Call for Drain Help in York, PA

A few details make the call faster and help the provider bring the right equipment.

• What is happening: which drains are slow or backed up, and whether water is coming up at the basement floor drain.
• When it started: today, after heavy rain, after a holiday or gathering, or slowly over weeks.
• Your address and access: the street address, and whether the house has a cleanout you can reach.
• The house: roughly how old it is, whether it is a rowhome, and any past sewer repairs or camera inspections.
• Owner or renter: renters should let the landlord know as well.

If sewage is coming out of a manhole in the street or the whole block is backing up, call Pennsylvania American Water at 1-800-565-7292, because the public sewer is theirs. For anything inside your house or on your side of the lateral, call the number on this page.

After the call

The provider will tell you when they can arrive and how they price the visit. If you need to leave the house, make sure someone can let them in and show them the basement and the cleanout. While you wait, stop using the drains, keep belongings away from the floor drain and keep children and pets out of any area with water. If the problem changes before they arrive, for example water starts rising at the floor drain, call back and let them know.

Questions to ask on the phone

It is fair to ask the provider's company name, whether they are insured, how they price the visit and whether they carry a camera. If you rent, ask whether they need the owner's approval before they start work.