Drain Cleaning in Bluffton, SC

Sewer service

Most Bluffton homes on public sewer are on BJWSA, which runs a 24/7 emergency line: (843) 987-9200

Whose pipe

BJWSA looks after the main under the street; the sewer line on your property is yours.

Grease

BJWSA asks customers never to pour grease down the drain, even with a garbage disposal. It sticks to the pipes on your property and the lines under the street.

Septic

Parts of Bluffton are still on septic. BJWSA’s Go2Sewer program is moving the Stoney Creek and Alljoy areas to sewer, with a grinder pump BJWSA maintains for an estimated $30 a month on the sewer bill.

Septic cleaners

For a septic home, BJWSA suggests a non-chlorine cleaner such as borax, and nothing flushed but toilet paper.

Sewer smell

A floor drain that is never used dries out and lets sewer gas in. Pour a little water into it.

One slow sink or tub is a clog in that drain, usually hair, soap or grease, and a plumber clears it in one visit. When several drains back up at once, a toilet gurgles when the washer drains, or water comes up in the lowest shower, the problem is the main sewer line, and it needs a cable or a jetter run from the outside cleanout.

A floor drain or a guest shower that is never used can smell of sewer gas because its trap has dried out; pour water into it before calling anyone. In a house on septic, everything draining slowly at once points to the tank or the drain field (see septic service above).

BJWSA, which provides water and sewer to most of Bluffton, looks after the main under the street; the line from your house to the main is yours, which is why BJWSA offers optional protection plans for home sewer lines. If the backup is in the main, call BJWSA’s 24/7 emergency line at (843) 987-9200. Williams Affordable Plumbing reviewers describe a clog that turned out to be on the main, with the plumber working with BJWSA to clear it.

BJWSA asks customers to keep grease out of every drain, garbage disposal or not, scraping it into a can or the trash and using sink strainers, and to flush nothing but toilet paper; wipes and diapers are a common cause of backups. The Bluffton utilities guide shows who provides sewer at your address.

A drain that clogs again weeks after it was snaked usually has grease built up on the pipe walls, tree roots in a joint, or a sag in the line. A camera run down the line shows which; hydro jetting scours grease and roots out with high-pressure water. Ace’s Plumbing, R.S. Andrews and Howell-Chase all do camera inspections and hydro jetting, and Howell-Chase repairs sewer lines by trenchless methods, without digging a trench across the yard.

Roots are a common culprit on the oak-shaded streets around Old Town Bluffton. For a broken or root-filled line that needs repair or replacing, see sewer line repair in Bluffton. No hot water or a leaking tank is a different call; see water heater repair in Bluffton.

Some Bluffton homes, especially in the older areas near the May River, are still on septic. BJWSA’s Go2Sewer program is moving homes in the Stoney Creek and Alljoy areas from septic to sewer, because leaking septic tanks reach Stoney Creek and the May River. Homes that connect get a grinder pump that BJWSA installs and maintains, with an easement, for an estimated $30 a month on the sewer bill, and BJWSA handles its emergency repairs.

Until then, a septic tank needs pumping on a schedule, and drain lines in a septic home need gentler care: BJWSA suggests a non-chlorine cleaner such as borax. Collins Septic Tank Service pumps tanks and installs and repairs drain fields.

Drain cleaning in Okatie works the same way as in Bluffton: a clog in one drain is a short visit, and several drains backing up at once means the sewer line. Of the companies above, ALL Plumbing Company says on its own site that it serves Okatie. It is on Buckhead Bay Road, 7.2 miles from Sun City Hilton Head. The Bluffton plumbers are about 5.5 miles from Sun City (Williams Affordable Plumbing 4.5), and Collins Septic Tank Service, on Barefoot Alley, is 3.8 miles away.

For drain repair in Okatie, ask for a camera inspection first. A camera run shows whether the line is clogged, cracked or collapsed before anyone digs; Ace’s Plumbing, R.S. Andrews and Howell-Chase all do camera work. Whether your Okatie house is on sewer or on a septic tank decides who you call for a main-line problem, so check your bill or ask your community office before booking (see your line or BJWSA’s and septic).

Three of the companies above say on their own websites that they serve Hardeeville: Ace’s Plumbing, R.S. Andrews and ALL Plumbing Company. For a clogged drain in Hardeeville, SC, that means a visit from Bluffton, about 12.7 miles from Ace’s and 12.6 from R.S. Andrews to Hardeeville City Hall (ALL Plumbing is 11.7). Collins Septic Tank Service is the closest company on this page, 7.0 miles from City Hall, and says it serves the Lowcountry; call it for a septic tank. The others do not list Hardeeville, so ask before you book.

Ridgeland is further: 17 to 21 miles from the companies here, and only Ace’s Plumbing lists Ridgeland as a town it serves. Jasper County’s utilities page lists the City of Hardeeville and the Town of Ridgeland as water and sewer contacts, so for a backup in either town ask which utility serves the address before paying for a plumber. Hardeeville drain cleaning costs are quoted by each company; ask whether a trip charge applies.

Clearing a clog is a service call. Replacing a sewer or drain line is plumbing work: inside the town limits, the Town of Bluffton’s permit application for remodels and minor projects lists plumbing among its work types and asks for the contractor’s SC LLR license number and Town business license number. Outside the town limits, Beaufort County’s building codes office issues the permit. The plumber pulls it, so ask whether the quote includes it.

A single sink or tub clog is the shortest visit. A main-line clog costs more, and more again if there is no outside cleanout and the plumber has to pull a toilet to reach the line. A camera inspection and hydro jetting are separate charges from snaking, and a broken line that needs replacing is a different job altogether, priced by length and depth.

After-hours calls usually cost more. Ace’s Plumbing gives free estimates with flat-rate pricing, and Howell-Chase lists no service-call or dispatch fees. Ask for the price before the work starts, and whether a second visit within a few weeks is covered if the drain clogs again.