Drain Cleaning in Oceanside, NY1950s Mains on Filled Ground

The Census Bureau's latest survey puts Oceanside's median year built at 1956. 36% of homes went up in the 1950s, 18% in the 1960s and 19% before 1940. 85% are single-family detached. In many of those houses the cast-iron drains inside and the main under the yard are the ones the builder put in. Cast iron narrows as scale builds on the inside, and clay or cast-iron mains let roots in at the joints.

Our overlay of FEMA's flood map puts about half of the Census Bureau's Oceanside area in the high-risk flood zone. On low streets, a storm tide or heavy rain can fill the sewer for a few hours. During that time every drain in the house may be slow, and the basement floor drain may back up, even with a clear line. If the drains recover on their own once the storm passes, the cause was the sewer. If they stay slow, it's your line. A backwater (sewer check) valve on the house sewer closes when the street sewer backs up.

With an average owner household of 2.89 people, the survey's figure, most Oceanside houses don't overload their drains. The usual culprits are grease from the kitchen, wipes in the toilet and lint from a washer that drains into a laundry tub. Keep those out and a sound main can go years between cleanings.