Why clogs come back
Plungers and small hand snakes open a path through a clog without cleaning the pipe. Grease, soap scum, hair or scale left on the walls narrows the pipe, and it closes again within weeks.
Other likely causes
- Habits: grease, coffee grounds or food in a kitchen drain, or hair in a shower
- A pipe that is too flat, sagging or has a poorly made joint
- A vent that is blocked, so the drain gurgles and drains slowly
- Roots or damage further down, showing up first at the lowest fixture
Breaking the cycle
The fix is to clean the full width of the pipe rather than punch through the clog, and then find out why it builds up. A camera shows whether the pipe itself is the problem.
When professional help makes sense
After the second or third clog in the same drain. A professional cleaning with the right cutting head or water jetting, followed by a look inside the line, usually costs less than repeated service calls.