Drain Cleaning & Rodding in New City

Housing Built Around the Stockyards

New City - Back of the Yards - grew around the Union Stock Yards, with dense frame and brick worker housing built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The neighborhood’s infrastructure dates from that period, and private laterals here are among the oldest still in daily service anywhere in Chicago.

Redeveloped Industrial Property

The former stockyard land has been redeveloped for industrial and commercial use, with drainage systems that have been adapted repeatedly over more than a century.

On property like this, the first thorough inspection is often the first complete record anyone has of what is actually underground.

Knowing When to Stop Rodding

On pipe this old, repeat rodding is sometimes genuinely the right call and sometimes just deferral with a receipt. The difference is visible on camera.

A line with one root-prone joint is a maintenance item. A line with multiple failures is a repair decision - see sewer line repair and replacement.

Back of the Yards and Canaryville

New City is the official name of the community area better known by its two historic neighborhoods: Back of the Yards and Canaryville. Both grew up beside the Union Stock Yards, which opened in 1865 and for nearly a century made Chicago the meatpacking capital of the world. Back of the Yards, west of the stockyards, was home to Polish, Lithuanian, Slovak, Czech and later Mexican workers, while Canaryville, to the east, was traditionally Irish. Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel The Jungle exposed the brutal conditions in the packinghouses and the crowded homes nearby, and in 1939 the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council, co-founded by Saul Alinsky, became a model for community organizing across the country.

The stockyards closed in 1971, and the land became an industrial park. New City's housing remains largely as it was built between 1880 and 1920: frame cottages, brick two-flats and small apartment buildings on narrow lots, many with alley access. Today the neighborhood is predominantly Mexican-American, with strong churches, schools and community organizations.

Century-old housing near a former industrial giant creates particular drain and sewer conditions.

Worker Cottages and Two-Flats

New City's frame worker cottages were built quickly and inexpensively for packinghouse families. Many had basements dug or enlarged later, and some sit below street grade. Plumbing was often added or modernized in stages, so layouts vary, and laterals may run to alley sewers.

Brick two-flats commonly house extended families, with heavy daily use putting extra load on shared mains. The basement floor drain shows clogs first.

Below-grade homes are especially vulnerable to sewer backups and benefit from overhead sewers or backwater valves.

Bubbly Creek and Low Ground

Bubbly Creek, the South Fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River, runs along the neighborhood's northeastern edge. It earned its name from gases rising from decades of stockyard waste dumped into it. Cleanup efforts have improved the creek, but low ground near it can see concentrated runoff during storms.

Soils near former stockyard and industrial land may include fill that settles unevenly, stressing old pipe. A camera inspection shows whether a lateral has sagged or separated.

Homes near the creek and industrial areas should be well protected against storm backups.

Roots and Aging Clay

New City's century-old laterals face root intrusion from parkway trees and vacant lots, along with deteriorating mortar joints. Rodding clears roots temporarily, and a camera inspection shows how many joints are affected.

Lining can seal the lateral permanently without excavating narrow yards or alleys.

When rodding very old pipe, crews should choose equipment suited to its condition.

Storm Backups

New City drains into the combined sewer system. Heavy storms can surcharge mains and push water into basements, often affecting several homes on a block.

Backwater valves and overhead sewers provide protection. Downspout disconnection, where permitted, reduces the storm load.

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

Kitchen Drains in Busy Homes

Many New City households cook daily for large families, and kitchen drains carry heavy loads of oil and food scraps. In old cast iron and galvanized lines, grease builds up quickly.

Collecting oil in a can for disposal, wiping pans and using strainers protect kitchen drains. Hydro jetting removes built-up grease more thoroughly than a cable.

Holiday seasons with heavy cooking are a common time for clogs; a preventive cleaning beforehand helps.

Interior Pipes

Cast iron and galvanized drain lines in New City's older homes often have heavy scale and corrosion. Horizontal cast iron under basement floors can rust through.

Descaling can restore flow in sound cast iron. Corroded sections are usually best replaced. A camera inspection helps decide.

Renovations are the ideal time to replace old interior drains.

47th Street, Ashland and Halsted

47th Street, Ashland Avenue and Halsted Street are lined with taquerias, bakeries and shops. Commercial kitchens should maintain grease interceptors and schedule regular hydro jetting.

Mixed-use buildings benefit from coordinated maintenance between commercial and residential tenants.

The industrial park on the former stockyards has its own facilities, but surrounding businesses rely on the same aging sewer infrastructure.

Service in New City

Crews serving the Southwest Side cover Back of the Yards and Canaryville along with Bridgeport, McKinley Park, Brighton Park, Gage Park and Englewood. When you call, share your address, the type of home and which fixtures are affected.

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.

Emergency calls are taken at any hour; crew availability varies.

Coverage Area

Local crews in our network serve all of New City, from Pershing Road south to Garfield Boulevard and from the rail lines near Wentworth Avenue west to Western Avenue, including Back of the Yards, Canaryville and the blocks around Sherman Park and Davis Square Park. Share your cross streets and alley access when you call.

Advice for Families and Landlords

Many New City homes have been in the same families for decades, sometimes passed from grandparents to grandchildren, and many two-flats house relatives on each floor. Long ownership brings useful knowledge: which drain clogs first, how often the main has been rodded, whether the basement has flooded. Share that history with any crew you call, and keep old receipts that note where roots were found or how far the cable went.

For landlords, clear instructions help. Post a short note in Spanish and English listing what should never go down the drains, including grease, wipes, paper towels and diapers, along with the number to call when a drain starts to slow. Responding quickly to a tenant's report of a slow drain prevents most basement backups.

If your building has needed rodding several times in recent years, a camera inspection will show whether roots, a crack or a sag is to blame. Fixing the underlying problem with a spot repair or lining usually costs less over time than repeated emergency visits, and it protects the basement apartment or storage space from damage.

Rehabbers buying older cottages should budget for a sewer inspection, likely lateral repair and a backwater valve as part of the project.

Warning Signs

Gurgling floor drains, water rising in the tub when the toilet flushes, sewer odors in the basement and several drains slowing at once all point to a restricted main. In New City's old laterals, calling at the first sign prevents a backup and costly cleanup.

Frequently Asked Questions