Mamba Drainage Services
Floor Drain Cleaning Vancouver
Basement floor drain backing up during heavy rain. Garage drain that will not take water. Mechanical room drain clogged with the boiler running. The floor drain is the one fixture in the room whose whole job is to stop a flood.
We snake it, jet it, and camera the discharge when the same drain keeps coming back.
What the drain is telling you
The symptom points at the fix, and they are not all the same fix.
- Water pooling around the grate instead of going down it
- A smell off a drain that is otherwise draining fine, which is usually a dry trap
- Backing up only during heavy rain, which points at the City main rather than the drain
- The same drain clogging again after it was cleared
- Gurgling from the floor drain when a fixture upstairs empties
- Standing water in a mechanical room after a small leak that should have drained away
- A kitchen drain that slows down through a service and clears overnight
What blocks a Vancouver floor drain
Floor drains are the safety valve in a basement, a garage, a mechanical room or a commercial kitchen. When the washing machine overflows, when the water heater lets go, when storm water finds its way through the foundation, the floor drain is what keeps the room from flooding.
They also clog, quietly and slowly. Sediment, lint, pet hair, soap residue and the occasional dropped object all collect in the P-trap until flow stops. By the time anyone notices, water is already standing on the floor.
Basement floor drains. Standard in most Vancouver basements built since 1960. They take washing machine overflow, water heater leaks and foundation seepage, and they clog on lint and detergent residue more than anything else.
Garage floor drains. Common where a garage was built to be washed out. Sediment tracked off the driveway, road salt residue and oil drips are the load, and hardened sediment eventually needs a jetter rather than a cable.
Commercial mechanical room drains. Boiler rooms, sprinkler valve rooms and parkade service areas. Heavier use means the discharge lateral wants jetting and a pressure test, not just a snake through the trap.
Restaurant kitchen floor drains. Grease and food debris together, which is the hardest load any drain on this list carries. These want a regular jetting cycle rather than a call when the kitchen floods mid service.
How we clear one. Start at the trap. Floor drain P-traps come apart from above through the grate, so we pull the grate, hand clean the debris out of the trap and vacuum the sediment. That also restores the water seal, which matters, because a P-trap with no water in it is an open pipe to the sewer. If hand cleaning does not bring the flow back, the discharge line gets snaked, 25 to 50 feet downstream of the trap on a Ridgid K-1500. If the cable does not clear it, we jet at 4,000 PSI and scrub the scale off the walls of the line instead of just punching a hole through it.
When the same drain keeps clogging. More than once a year and the problem is not the drain, it is the pipe past it. A belly holding water, an offset joint, roots through a joint. We camera scope the discharge, find it, and quote the fix rather than selling you the same cleaning again. And if the drain has backed up during a storm with the City sewer surcharged, cleaning is the wrong tool entirely. That is a backwater valve on the main lateral.
Commercial and strata. Restaurant kitchens carry grease and food debris into the same lateral the grease trap uses, so a full grease trap backs the floor drains up too, and we coordinate the schedule with whoever pumps it. Parkade boiler rooms, sprinkler valve rooms, garbage rooms and strata common area drains run on a set cleaning cycle. Every commercial visit comes with a certificate of service by email, a photo log and a written cause and condition report, which is what health inspectors, strata records and insurance audits actually ask for.
What Vancouver customers say
Ryan was great! My landlord called him to fix my blocked kitchen sink. He showed up the same day (on a Sunday) and fixed the problem. He even cleaned the sink and dried up all the water that had leaked before he got there. And he was very careful coming in and out of the house so my cat wouldn’t get out. I’d definitely recommend him.
Ryan is INCREDIBLE. He has been responding to all of us (four houses and families!) affected by a sewage back up. This is all on Boxing Day and beyond, in terrible weather full of ice, cold and rain. He is so knowledgeable, and knew what was needed right away. Just the top of his field I am sure. As well as that, he is incredibly calm, respectful, kind and fair. I am truly amazed by this person's capacity and competence in combination with his noble, calm presence in the face of a real mess. Thank you Ryan, so very much!
I had very positive experience with Mamba Services, Ryan was amazing to work with and took care of my drain issues in no time. He arrived on time, was very professional and efficient in carrying out the work. What impressed me was how honest he was in recommending needed repair. He was very patient in explaining the different options. I will certainly call them for future projects.
Had an excellent experience. Ryan was fantastic, it was an after hours call late in the evening and he showed up exactly in the time frame he gave. Took care of the kitchen sink issue within minutes all systems were running like new. Pricing was extremely reasonable, Ryan was patient and explained everything to me while fixing my problem. I would highly recommend this company for any plumbing work.
Ryan was efficient, experienced, and knowledgeable. He was able to squeeze me into his schedule with short notice and wasted no time with my appointment. He arrived on site inspected the issue, and was quickly at work with resolving the problem. I am very pleased with his service and honesty. He provided recommendations that will help assist me in future occurrences.
24/7 emergency dispatch
Get the diagnosis before the next storm
Sometimes the floor drain is not the problem at all. If it only backs up during an atmospheric river, the City main is surcharging and no amount of cleaning changes that. Knowing which one you have is the difference between a service call and a wasted one.
Floor drain cleaning FAQ, Vancouver
Usually a dry trap. The water seal evaporates if the drain is not used, and sewer gas comes up through it. Pour a jug of water down and see if the smell goes. If it persists, there is a venting problem or an actual leak, and that needs looking at properly.
That is the City sewer surcharging and pushing back into your property. Snaking the floor drain does nothing for it. What stops it is a backwater valve on the main lateral, which also unlocks the sewer backup endorsement on your insurance.
Quarterly for an active kitchen. Grease and food debris fill the trap and the discharge lateral faster than anything else we service, and the failure always seems to arrive mid service. A schedule is cheaper than the emergency every time.
A cable cuts a channel through the blockage and restores flow. A jet scrubs the pipe wall back to bare. That is why a cabled drain often comes back and a jetted one usually does not.
Yes, when the drain is a repeat offender. The scope finds the belly, the offset joint or the root intrusion that cleaning will never fix, and you see the footage rather than taking our word for it.
Floor drains usually tie into the same discharge lateral as the grease trap. If the trap is full, the floor drain backs up as a symptom of that rather than as its own problem. We coordinate with whoever pumps the trap so the two jobs line up.
Yes. Restaurants on the tightest cycle, strata common areas and retail on longer ones, and portfolio pricing where a property manager has several sites. See our drainage maintenance programs.
It can, which is why we do not lead with it. Putting 4,000 PSI into a cracked clay discharge line can make a small problem into an excavation. We cable or scope first to confirm the pipe is sound, then decide whether the jetter comes off the truck.
Nine times out of ten the P-trap has gone dry. The water sitting in the trap is the only thing blocking sewer gas, and it evaporates out of a drain nobody uses. Pour a quart of water down it and see if the smell goes. If it does not, the problem is downstream and worth scoping.
Yes, that is a large part of the commercial book. Trash rooms, mechanical rooms, parkades and restaurant kitchens. You get a certificate of service, a photo log and a written report on every visit, and property management companies with several sites get a portfolio rate on an annual contract.
24/7 EMERGENCY DISPATCH
Water where it should not be?
Ryan picks up. Live dispatch, and you get a real arrival window on the call.