Plumbing tips · October 9, 2026
Every drain in the house slow at once?
One slow sink is a clog in that sink. When the tub, the toilets and the floor drains all slow down together, the problem is usually further down — in the main line every drain in the house runs into.
The signs it is the main line
More than one fixture slow or backing up at the same time. Water coming up in the tub or shower when a toilet is flushed or the washer drains. Gurgling from drains you are not using. A sewage smell inside or in the yard. The lowest drains in the house usually show it first.
What causes it
Tree roots getting into the line through a joint, grease that has set hard, wipes and other things that should not be flushed, or a section of pipe that has sagged, cracked or collapsed. If the house is on a septic system, the tank itself can be the cause.
What to do now
Stop running water — every flush and every load of washing goes somewhere, and with a blocked main that somewhere is the lowest drain in the house. Do not pour chemical drain cleaner in; it rarely reaches a main-line blockage and it makes the line dangerous for whoever opens it.
How a plumber finds it
The line is cleared from a cleanout, and a camera run down the pipe shows what caused it — roots, grease or broken pipe — so the fix matches the problem rather than clearing it again next month.
Questions we get asked
Can I fix it with a plunger?
A plunger clears a clog in one fixture. It will not clear a blocked main, and plunging a toilet into a full line can push sewage out of the next drain down.Where is the cleanout?
Usually a capped pipe sticking up outside near the house, along the side the sewer line leaves from. Some houses have one inside as well.I am on a septic system. Is it the tank?
It can be. If the tank is full or its outlet is blocked, every drain slows down at once. A septic company pumps and services the tank.Plumbing questions we answer
Where we go
Parker, Wise and Tarrant County, out of the shop in Springtown. Springtown, Weatherford, Azle, Boyd, Decatur, Newark, Millsap, Fort Worth and the country in between.
Call 817-487-8866