Drain Cleaning
& Sewer Repair
in Southwest Ohio

In Clermont County, you — the homeowner — are responsible for your building sewer from your home to the edge of the public road right-of-way. The Clermont County Water Resources Department maintains the lateral from the road edge to the sewer main. In Hamilton County, MSD (Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati) handles the public side — homeowners are responsible for the building sewer on private property. Call FlowMax to scope the line and identify exactly where the problem is before anyone else gets involved.

Multiple slow drains at the same time, gurgling sounds from your toilet or basement floor drain, sewage odor rising from the basement, or a drain that keeps backing up after snaking all point to a main line issue rather than a single fixture clog. One slow drain is usually localized. Two or more fixtures slowing or backing up at the same time almost always means the main sewer line.

In older Cincinnati-area neighborhoods, downspouts, sump pumps, and foundation drains were sometimes connected to the sanitary sewer line — which is now prohibited. During heavy rain those connections push groundwater into the sewer, overwhelming the line and backing it up. A cracked lateral also lets saturated soil water infiltrate the pipe. A camera scope will show exactly what’s happening inside your line so we can fix the actual cause, not just bail out the water.

No. Despite the label, wipes do not break down in sewer lines the way toilet paper does. They accumulate in bends and catch grease, hair, and solids until the line clogs. We pull them out on drain calls regularly — often in large mats that have been building up for years. Toilet paper only. Everything else goes in the trash.

For homes near mature trees, every 3 to 5 years. For homes in pre-1960s neighborhoods — which covers large parts of Milford, New Richmond, Georgetown, Mariemont, and many Cincinnati neighborhoods — a baseline camera inspection is strongly recommended regardless of symptoms. Many of those homes still have original clay tile or Orangeburg pipe that is 60 to 80 or more years old. If you’ve had any backup in the past two years, schedule one now rather than waiting for the next failure.

Snaking uses a rotating cable to break through a clog or pull root masses back out of the line. It’s the right first step on most drain calls — fast, effective, and appropriate for most blockages. Hydro-jetting uses high-pressure water to scour the pipe walls and is better suited for heavy grease buildup or after a major root job where debris coats the interior. We snake first, inspect with the camera, and recommend jetting if the pipe walls need a deeper clean.

Standard homeowners policies in Ohio typically do not cover sewer line repair caused by normal aging, root intrusion, or wear. Many insurers offer a sewer backup endorsement as an add-on — usually $40 to $100 per year — which covers cleanup costs when sewage backs up into the home. The lateral replacement itself is generally a homeowner expense even with the endorsement. A camera inspection gives you documentation of the actual condition of the pipe, which helps if you need to file or dispute a claim.