One number for drain and sewer help across the Chicago metro
When a line backs up, most people don't know who to call. We take that call, figure out what kind of problem it is, and connect you with a local crew that does that work in your area.
How it works
Describe what's happening and give us your ZIP. Any hour, any day.
A single slow sink, a main-line backup and a storm-driven floor drain need different equipment. We ask the questions that tell them apart.
You're connected with an independent crew that works your area, who confirms timing and pricing before any work starts.
Why local matters here
Chicago's housing stock is old and its sewers are mostly combined - storm water and waste share the same pipes. Clay tile laterals, tree roots, overhead sewers and flood-control valves are everyday work here, not edge cases.
The suburbs vary just as much: separate storm systems in newer subdivisions, older cast iron in pre-war downtowns. A crew that already works your streets knows what's likely under them.
What we are - and aren't
Illinois Drain Cleaning is an independent referral service. We don't employ plumbers or perform work ourselves. All work is done by independent contractors, who set their own pricing, scheduling and warranties.
Ask the crew about licensing, insurance and pricing before they start - any reputable contractor will answer those questions directly.
See our services or find your area - or just call.
Why This Site Exists
When a basement floor drain starts backing up at eleven at night, most people do not want to compare a dozen websites. They want one number that reaches someone who can send a qualified crew. This site exists to be that number for Chicago and northern Illinois. We are a call-routing service: when you call, we connect you with an independent local drain and sewer contractor who works in your area and handles rodding, jetting, camera inspection and related repairs.
We also try to make the site genuinely useful before you ever pick up the phone. Each area page describes the housing, soils, sewer systems and common problems of a specific neighborhood or suburb, and each service page explains what a job involves and when it makes sense. The goal is that you understand what is likely happening under your floor and can make an informed decision when the crew explains your options.
How Calls Are Routed
When you call, we ask a few quick questions: your town or neighborhood, the type of home, which fixtures are affected, whether it is raining and whether your home is on sewer or septic. We use that to route your call to a crew serving your area with the right equipment. The contractor who arrives sets the price on site after seeing the cleanout and hearing the symptoms, and you approve any work before it begins.
Where We Cover
Our coverage includes all seventy-seven Chicago community areas, the North Shore from Evanston to Lake Bluff, the northwest suburbs, the west suburbs and DuPage County, the south suburbs, Lake County, McHenry and Kane counties, parts of Will County and the Rockford area. Within that territory, housing ranges from nineteenth-century row houses and greystones to postwar slab ranches and brand-new subdivisions, and sewer systems range from Chicago's combined sewers to suburban sanitary lines and rural septic systems. That variety is why we route to local crews rather than dispatching from a single central shop.
How We Write Our Area Pages
Our area pages draw on the history and development of each community, its typical housing ages and construction, local rivers, creeks and soils, and the drain problems that come up most often there. We describe general patterns, not guarantees about any specific property; every home is different, and the crew on site will diagnose your actual line. If you notice something on a page that seems wrong for your neighborhood, we would like to hear about it so we can correct it.
About the Contractors
The crews we route calls to are independent local businesses. They bring their own equipment, set their own prices and are responsible for their own work, warranties, licensing and insurance. Before approving work, you are welcome to ask the contractor about licensing, insurance, warranty terms and written estimates, and we encourage you to do so, especially for larger repairs such as lining or excavation.
Straight Answers
We would rather you understand your options than feel pressured. For many first-time clogs, simple rodding is all you need. For recurring problems, a camera inspection shows whether maintenance, a spot repair or lining makes sense. For storm backups that affect your whole block, the fix is often protection such as a backwater valve rather than repeated cleaning. You decide what to do after the options are explained.
Available Around the Clock
Drain emergencies happen at night, on weekends and on holidays, and the phone line is answered around the clock. If sewage is coming up through a floor drain, stop running water in the house, keep children and pets away and call right away.
Your Information
We use the details you share on the phone, such as your address and a description of the problem, only to route your call and help the crew arrive prepared.
Feedback
If your experience with a crew was good or bad, let us know by calling the same number. Feedback helps us route future calls to contractors who treat customers well and resolve problems quickly.
Rodding, Jetting and Other Local Terms
Chicago-area plumbers use some terms that surprise newcomers. Rodding means clearing a drain or sewer with a flexible steel cable, the same job called snaking or cabling elsewhere. The lateral, or building sewer, is the pipe that runs from your house to the public main under the street or alley. A cleanout is a capped fitting that gives access to that line, usually near the front basement wall in older homes. An overhead sewer raises a building's connection above the basement floor, and a backwater valve is a flap that closes when sewer water tries to flow into the house. You will see these terms throughout the site.
What Makes This Region Different
Northern Illinois is flat, wet and built on dense glacial clay. Chicago raised its streets in the 1800s to install one of the first comprehensive sewer systems in the country, and much of the city still relies on combined sewers that carry storm water and household waste together. That is why basement floor drain backups during heavy rain are such a familiar problem here. The suburbs grew in waves, from nineteenth-century railroad towns to postwar developments to recent subdivisions, and each wave left a different kind of plumbing. Rivers such as the Des Plaines, Fox, DuPage and Little Calumet have flooded neighborhoods repeatedly. Understanding those local conditions is what separates a quick, correct diagnosis from guesswork.
How You Can Help the Crew
Before the crew arrives, clear a path to the basement floor drain and cleanout if you can, secure pets and note which fixtures backed up and in what order. If the line has been serviced before, have any old receipts handy. Those small steps can shorten the visit and help the crew find the problem faster.
For Home Buyers and Sellers
If you are buying an older home, a sewer camera inspection before closing is one of the most valuable inspections you can order. If you are selling, fixing known sewer problems and documenting the work is usually easier than negotiating over them after a buyer's inspection. Either way, call and ask for a camera inspection.
Prevention We Recommend
Most of the calls we route could have been avoided or delayed with a few habits: collecting cooking grease in a can instead of pouring it down the sink, flushing only toilet paper, fitting hair catchers in tubs and showers, cleaning the washing machine's lint screen and testing sump and ejector pumps every spring. For older homes with parkway trees, scheduling main line rodding every twelve to eighteen months keeps roots from building into a full blockage. For homes that have flooded before, a backwater valve or overhead sewer is the single most effective upgrade.
When the Whole Block Backs Up
If several homes on your street take on water during the same storm, the cause is almost always the public sewer rather than your own line. Rodding will not prevent the next storm backup in that case. Report it to your city or village, and ask the crew about protection for your basement.
Using This Site
Start with the area page for your neighborhood or suburb to learn about local housing and sewer conditions, then read the service page that matches your symptoms. When you are ready, the call button at the top of every page reaches the same service line, day or night.
Thank You
Thank you for trusting us with your call. We work to connect every caller with a crew that shows up prepared and explains options clearly.