How much does drain cleaning cost in Minneapolis?

The metro ranges

Typical drain cleaning call

$115 – $290

Main line clog (average / typical range)

~$201 / $129 – $280

Tree root removal

$120 – $1,160

Hydro jetting

$400 – $700

Camera inspection

$230 – $1,500

These are Twin Cities metro ranges from public sources, not our prices. What your job costs depends on your house — and you'll have our number before we start.

Why is the root-removal range so wide?

Because "roots in the line" covers everything from a few hairs of feeder root at a joint to a lateral that is packed solid for fifteen feet. The first is a cable and an hour. The second is jetting, a camera, and a real conversation about whether the pipe has any life left.

Roots are an older-neighborhood story around here — Minneapolis, Robbinsdale, Crystal, Osseo, Anoka, where clay tile and cast iron laterals are still in the ground. Maple Grove is a post-1970 city and its drain problems tend to be different.

When is a camera actually worth the money?

When the same drain has backed up more than once, when you are buying the house, or when the clog is in the main line rather than a single fixture. Cabling a line that keeps clogging without ever looking at it is how people end up paying for the same visit four times.

It is not worth it for a hair clog in a tub.

Single fixture or the whole house?

If one fixture is slow, the problem is in that fixture's branch. If several are slow at once, or the toilet gurgles when the washer drains, the problem is downstream in the main. That gurgle is the single most reliable tell we get on the phone.

Related questions

How often should a main line be cleaned?

If yours has never backed up, you do not need a schedule. If it has roots, an annual or every-other-year cleaning ahead of the wet season is cheaper than a basement cleanup.

Is hydro jetting better than cabling?

For grease and for root regrowth, yes — jetting scours the pipe wall instead of punching a hole through the blockage. On old, brittle clay or badly corroded cast iron it is not always the right call. That is what the camera is for.

Will store-bought drain chemicals work?

On a hair clog in a lavatory, sometimes. On a main line, no — and the caustic sits in the trap where somebody has to work on it later. We would rather you not.