If you’ve had your kitchen or bathroom drain cleaned and it clogs again within a few weeks — you’re not alone, and the drain snake probably isn’t the problem. After 29 years of clearing drains throughout Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, I can tell you that recurring clogs almost always have a root cause that snaking doesn’t fix.
Here’s what’s actually happening inside your pipes — and what to do about it.
The Most Common Reason Drains Keep Clogging
When a drain clogs repeatedly after being cleared, it means the snake is only poking a hole through the blockage — not removing it. The buildup coating the inside of your pipe walls stays in place, and the hole closes back up within days or weeks.
This is especially common in:
Kitchen drains with heavy grease output — grease hardens on pipe walls and narrows the flow gradually
Bathroom drains in older homes — decades of soap scum, hair, and mineral deposits create thick buildup that snaking can’t touch
Main sewer lines with partial root intrusion — tree roots create a net that catches debris with every flush
Los Angeles Makes This Worse
Here in the San Fernando Valley, two specific factors make drain clogging more common than in most of the country:
Hard water mineral scale
LA’s water supply — particularly in the Valley, Santa Clarita, and surrounding areas — is some of the hardest in the country. Calcium and magnesium deposits build up inside pipes the same way they build up inside your kettle. Over years, this narrows the inside diameter of your pipes significantly. A drain that was two inches wide is now one and a half inches. Everything clogs faster.
Aging clay and cast iron pipes
Most homes in the San Fernando Valley were built between 1945 and 1975. If your home is in this range and has never had a plumbing inspection, your drain lines are likely original — meaning they’re 50 to 80 years old. Clay pipes crack and shift. Cast iron corrodes. Both develop rough interior surfaces that catch grease and debris far more aggressively than modern smooth-wall PVC pipe.
What Actually Fixes Recurring Drain Clogs
The right solution depends on what’s causing the clog. Here’s the honest breakdown:
1. Hydro jetting
High-pressure water jetting (up to 4,000 PSI) scours the entire interior wall of the pipe completely clean — grease, mineral scale, soap scum, and light root intrusion all get flushed out. Unlike snaking, which creates a temporary opening, hydro jetting restores the full interior diameter of the pipe. Results typically last months to years rather than days to weeks.
We use hydro jetting for kitchen drains with grease buildup, bathroom lines with heavy soap and hair accumulation, and as a pre-treatment before camera inspection or pipe lining.
2. Camera inspection
If your drain keeps clogging and you don’t know why, a camera inspection is the most valuable thing you can do. We run a waterproof camera through the line and you watch the footage in real time. We’ve found cracked pipes, collapsed sections, tree roots growing through joints, and sewer lines that were never properly installed. You can’t fix what you can’t see.
3. Pipe lining or replacement
If the camera reveals significant damage — cracks, corrosion, root intrusion that keeps coming back — the pipe itself needs rehabilitation. CIPP pipe lining (cured-in-place pipe) creates a seamless new pipe inside the old damaged one, without excavation. For pipes that are too far gone to line, we offer pipe bursting — full replacement through small access points, no trench.
When to Call a Plumber vs. Try DIY
DIY is fine for:
- A single clog in one fixture that clears easily and doesn’t come back
- Hair clogs near the drain opening that you can pull out by hand or with a zip-it tool
- Minor slow drains that respond to hot water and dish soap
Call a plumber when:
- The same drain clogs more than once every 2-3 months
- Multiple fixtures are draining slowly at the same time — this signals a main line issue
- You hear gurgling from your toilet when you run the sink — air in the sewer line
- Water backs up into your tub or shower when you flush the toilet — sewage backup
- You’ve had the drain snaked and it clogged again within a few weeks
The Bottom Line
A drain that keeps clogging is telling you something. It’s either buildup that snaking can’t clear, a pipe that’s damaged, or roots that keep growing back. The only way to know which one is with a camera.
If your drain keeps coming back, call Expertise Plumbing & Rooter at (888) 807-7069. We’ll run a camera, show you exactly what’s happening, and give you honest options before any work starts. Based in Arleta, serving all of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.