Drain Cleaning in Round Lake, IL

One of Five Connected Round Lake Villages

Round Lake is the historic anchor of the Round Lake Area, a cluster of five separately incorporated villages (Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Heights, Round Lake Park and Round Lake Park) that grew up around the same small lakes.

The original village center carries older piping than the residential growth that expanded outward across the cluster in later decades.

Small Lakes, Cottage-Era Origins

Like other Chain O'Lakes-area communities, some of Round Lake's original lakefront homes began as seasonal cottages before converting to year-round use.

Summer Resort to Commuter Village

Round Lake takes its name from the nearly circular glacial lake at its heart. The area was settled by farmers in the mid-1800s, and when the Milwaukee Road railroad built a station in the early 1900s, Round Lake became a summer resort destination for Chicagoans, with cottages ringing the lake and nearby Long Lake and Highland Lake. The village incorporated in 1908. Over the twentieth century, many cottages became year-round homes, and the surrounding area developed into several related villages, including Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Park and Round Lake Heights. Since the 1990s, large new subdivisions have made the Round Lake area one of the fastest-growing parts of Lake County.

Housing includes converted lake cottages, early twentieth-century homes near the old downtown and train station, mid-century ranches and extensive newer subdivisions. Plumbing ranges from small, piecemeal systems in former cottages to modern PVC in new construction.

The lakes, Squaw Creek and surrounding wetlands keep groundwater high in many areas.

Converted Cottages and Older Homes

Homes near the lakes that started as summer cottages often have plumbing added in stages, sometimes on crawlspaces or shallow foundations. Lines may be undersized for full-time use, and many homes originally used septic systems before connecting to sewer.

Clogs in converted cottages often trace to an old or undersized pipe section, a sag in soft lakeside soil or a poor connection between old and new pipe. A camera inspection maps where lines run and identifies weak points.

Crawlspace plumbing should be insulated to prevent freezing in winter.

Newer Subdivisions

Much of the Round Lake area's housing was built since the 1990s, with PVC drains, basements with sump pits and sometimes ejector pumps. These systems resist roots and corrosion but still clog from grease, wipes and debris.

In wet soils near lakes and wetlands, lines can settle after construction, creating sags. A recurring clog at the same distance from the cleanout may indicate a sag.

Test sump and ejector pumps annually.

Lakes, Creeks and Groundwater

Round Lake, Long Lake, Highland Lake and the surrounding wetlands keep groundwater high, especially in spring. Saturated soil can shift around buried pipe and allow infiltration into cracked lines.

Sump pumps are essential in many homes, and battery backups protect against flooding during outages.

Grading, downspout extensions and clear window wells help keep water away from foundations.

Sanitary Sewers and Backups

The Round Lake area's sanitary sewers are separate from storm sewers, but heavy rain can overload them through infiltration and improperly connected sump pumps or downspouts, causing basement backups.

A backwater valve protects your basement. Routing sump discharge to the yard helps prevent overloads.

If several homes on your street back up at once, contact your village public works department.

Mature Trees Around the Lakes

The older neighborhoods around Round Lake and Long Lake have mature trees whose roots reach clay or early plastic laterals. Root intrusion causes backups that typically recur every year or two at the same spot. Rodding with a root-cutting head clears the blockage, and a camera inspection shows how many joints are affected. Spot repairs fix a few bad joints; lining seals the entire lateral without excavating established yards.

Newer subdivisions have younger trees, but as they mature, roots will seek out any damaged joints in nearby lines. Keep new plantings away from the path of the sewer lateral.

Winter and Spring Considerations

Cold winters can freeze crawlspace plumbing in converted cottages, and spring thaws raise groundwater around the lakes. Insulate exposed lines, keep crawlspace vents closed in winter, test your sump pump before spring and add a battery backup. If drains slow after a hard winter, have the main line checked before spring storms arrive.

Growing Families and Busy Drains

Many Round Lake area homes house young and growing families, and busy households put steady demands on drains. Keep grease out of kitchen sinks, teach children what can and cannot be flushed, use hair catchers in tubs and clean the washing machine's lint screen. Watch for early warning signs like gurgling floor drains or water rising in the tub when the toilet flushes, and call early.

Service in the Round Lake Area

Crews serving northwestern Lake County cover Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Park, Round Lake Heights and Hainesville, along with Grayslake, Volo and Ingleside. When you call, share your address, the type of home and which fixtures are affected, and mention if you have a sump pump or ejector pump.

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

Buying in the Round Lake Area

For converted cottages and older homes near the lakes, schedule a sewer camera inspection before closing and ask whether the home was ever on septic. For newer homes, ask about pump age and whether the home has a backwater valve. Near the water, ask about groundwater and flooding history.

Coverage Area

Local crews in our network serve the Village of Round Lake and the neighboring Round Lake communities, including the neighborhoods around Round Lake, Long Lake and Highland Lake and the subdivisions along Route 120, Route 134 and Cedar Lake Road. Share your address and nearest cross streets when you call.

Near the Train Station and Old Downtown

The blocks around Round Lake's Metra station on the Milwaukee District North line contain some of the area's oldest year-round homes, built in the early twentieth century when the railroad made commuting and summer travel possible. These houses often have basements that were dug out or enlarged after construction, clay laterals approaching a century old and interior cast iron drains with heavy scale. Commercial buildings nearby may have similar vintage plumbing.

For owners of these older homes, the priorities are a camera inspection to establish the condition of the lateral, regular rodding if roots are present and a backwater valve to protect the basement from sanitary sewer surcharges during heavy rain. If interior drains stay slow even after cleaning, descaling or replacing corroded cast iron can restore normal flow. Keeping records of every visit helps future crews work faster and gives buyers confidence when the home is eventually sold.

Because these homes are close to the lake and wetlands, groundwater can be high in spring, so a reliable sump pump with a battery backup is also important.

When to Call

Call when several drains slow down at once, when a floor drain gurgles, when water rises in the tub as the toilet flushes or when you notice sewer odors. Each points to a restriction in the main line. Calling early prevents a basement backup and usually means a quicker, less expensive visit.

Frequently Asked Questions