Drain Cleaning & Rodding in Clearing

Brick Homes on Quiet Streets

Clearing’s residential blocks are mid-century brick homes on a regular grid, immediately south and west of Midway Airport.

Laterals here are typically clay from the 1940s through 1960s - old enough to have settled joints, young enough that lining is usually straightforward when needed.

Freight, Logistics and Facility Drainage

The industrial corridor along the airport carries freight, logistics and light manufacturing property with commercial-scale drainage running continuously.

Facilities like these plan drain maintenance the way they plan any other preventive maintenance, because an unplanned stoppage interrupts operations.

What Airport Proximity Does and Does Not Affect

Airport proximity affects a lot about living here; it does not meaningfully change what happens inside a sewer line.

The drivers are the same as anywhere: pipe age, joint condition, roots, grade and what gets put down the drain. Slow drain diagnosis works through them in order.

Midway Airport’s Neighborhood

Clearing takes its name from a rail clearing yard, a facility for sorting freight cars, planned in the 1890s by the Chicago Transfer and Clearing Company. The area remained largely industrial and open for decades, and in 1927 the city opened Chicago Municipal Airport on the neighborhood's eastern edge. Renamed Midway Airport in 1949 after the World War II Battle of Midway, it was the busiest airport in the world through the 1950s until O'Hare took over. Residential development in Clearing accelerated after the Second World War, when thousands of brick bungalows, Cape Cods and raised ranches were built for families, many of Polish, Irish and Italian descent, and more recently for growing numbers of Latino families.

Clearing's housing is mostly single-family and mostly built between the late 1940s and the 1960s. Homes typically have full basements or lower levels, cast iron drains and clay laterals now fifty to seventy-five years old. Many residents are city workers, and the neighborhood has a suburban character with tidy lawns and quiet streets.

Midway Airport, industrial areas and major roads like Cicero Avenue and 63rd Street border its residential blocks.

Postwar Bungalows and Raised Ranches

Clearing's brick bungalows and Cape Cods have full basements with floor drains as the lowest openings and cleanouts near the front wall. Raised ranches put family rooms, bathrooms and laundry on lower levels close to sewer elevation, and many use ejector pumps.

When lower-level drains back up in a raised ranch while upstairs fixtures work, the ejector pump or check valve may be the cause rather than the main line.

Knowing your house type and which fixtures are affected helps the crew diagnose the problem quickly.

Maturing Trees and Clay Laterals

The parkway trees planted when Clearing's homes were built are now large enough that their roots reach clay lateral joints. Root intrusion is a leading cause of recurring main line backups.

Rodding clears the blockage, and a camera inspection shows how many joints are affected. Lining can seal the lateral permanently.

Regular rodding every one to two years prevents most root emergencies.

Storms, Pavement and Airport Runoff

Clearing drains into Chicago's combined sewer system. The large paved areas of Midway Airport, industrial sites and major roads generate significant runoff during heavy storms, which can load local sewers.

Homes with finished basements and lower levels should have backwater valves or overhead sewers. Sump pumps with battery backups handle groundwater.

Report block-wide backups to 311 so the city can track problem areas.

Ejector Pumps and Sump Pumps

Many Clearing homes rely on ejector pumps for lower-level fixtures and sump pumps for groundwater. Signs of ejector pump trouble include constant running, alarms, odors and intermittent backups.

Test both pumps at least once a year and consider replacing units older than ten to fifteen years before they fail.

A battery backup for the sump pump protects against flooding during power outages.

Interior Cast Iron

Cast iron drain lines in Clearing's postwar homes may have developed internal scale. Kitchen lines are prone to grease buildup.

Descaling or replacing corroded sections restores flow. A camera inspection of interior lines shows the condition of the pipe.

Renovations are the ideal time to address interior drain problems.

63rd Street and Cicero Avenue

Commercial corridors along 63rd Street, Cicero Avenue and Archer Avenue include restaurants, hotels serving Midway travelers and shops. Restaurants and hotels should maintain grease interceptors and schedule regular line cleaning.

If you manage a hotel or restaurant near Midway, ask about preventive maintenance and after-hours service.

Mixed-use buildings benefit from coordinated maintenance.

Maintenance and Buying Advice

For a typical Clearing home, rodding every one to two years, a camera inspection every few years and annual pump testing provide good protection.

Buyers should schedule a sewer camera inspection before closing, and ask about the age of any ejector or sump pump.

If you plan to finish a lower level, install a backwater valve or overhead sewer during the renovation.

Service in Clearing

Crews serving the Southwest Side cover Clearing along with Garfield Ridge, West Lawn, Archer Heights and neighboring Bedford Park and Summit. When you call, share your address, the type of home and which fixtures are affected, and mention if you have an ejector pump or overhead sewer.

For main line clogs, the crew will rod from the most accessible cleanout. For recurring problems, a camera inspection is recommended. Pricing is confirmed on site before work begins.

Many residents work city shifts; let us know your availability for non-emergency service.

Coverage Area

Local crews in our network serve all of Clearing, from 59th Street south to 65th Street and beyond toward the city limits, and from Cicero Avenue west to Harlem Avenue, including the residential blocks around Midway Airport, Hale Park and Clearing Park. Share your cross streets when you call so the crew can navigate around airport traffic.

Living Next to Midway

Midway Airport handles millions of passengers a year, and Clearing residents live with its runways, flight paths and ground traffic. Many homes near the airport have received sound insulation through the airport's residential noise program, which sometimes involved work in basements and utility areas. If your home was part of that program, keep the paperwork, since it can help future crews understand changes made near your plumbing.

The airport also affects drainage. Runways, taxiways, terminals and parking lots cover hundreds of acres with pavement, and although the airport manages its own stormwater, the surrounding streets receive runoff from nearby roads, parking and commercial properties. During intense storms, blocks close to the airport and along Cicero Avenue can see local sewers fill quickly, which is one reason backwater valves and overhead sewers are so common in Clearing basements.

For homeowners, the practical steps are the same as elsewhere on the Southwest Side: protect the basement, keep the main line clear with regular rodding, test sump and ejector pumps each spring and keep valuables off the basement floor. A few precautions go a long way toward keeping a Clearing basement dry through the heaviest summer storms.

When to Call

Call when you notice gurgling from the basement floor drain, water rising in the tub when the toilet flushes, a sewer smell near the laundry area, or an ejector pump alarm. Each of these points to a problem that is far easier and cheaper to fix before it becomes a full backup into finished lower-level space.

Neighbors With Similar Homes

Because Clearing's subdivisions were built quickly after the war, many neighboring homes share the same builder, lateral depth and pipe materials. If a neighbor recently had roots removed or a lateral lined, your line may face similar conditions, and a proactive camera inspection lets you plan ahead instead of reacting during a storm.

Frequently Asked Questions