Essex Drain & Sewer Cleaning

The estimate was clear over the phone and the prices for services are right on the invoice so there is no mystery. Mike was prompt and a pleasure to deal with from beginning to end. I need this service every two years and I will use them from here on.

I called Essex Drain on the recommendation of local plumbing company. We had been experiencing an odor in the basement for a number of months and wanted to get to the bottom of it. MIke came the same day, and, after having spoken with another drain cleaning company days before, we were immediately impressed by his level of professionalism. He got right to work and diagnosed the problem: not roots or blockage, but rocks and a puncture hole directly related to the installation of a French drain many years ago, long before we purchased the house. Other than that, our sewer pipe was as clean as a whistle. He cleaned up his equipment and the area, and said that he would come back when the plumber comes to fix the punctured pipe. We were very happy with him and his service from start to finish. The charge includes the price of snaking the line with a 2" cutter plus the video inspection (it also includes 7% tax). The cost of the video is comparable to what other drain cleaning services charge.

They are a family owned and operator company. They great work and I would highly recommend.

Mike McGinnis was terrific. He showed up on time and didn't leave a mess. His cleaning was very thorough, with different sized bits to break through blockages and to remove roots and other organic matter (4-inch, 2-inch, a corkscrew, and a spear). Unfortunately, he ran into what appeared to be a broken section of sewer, which he couldn't break through (due to rocks and other hard materials). He offers video inspections but advised that given the behavior of the auger, he might not be able to get the camera all the way through, which means the video wouldn't help me. I decided not to get the video inspection, and I really appreciate his honesty -- he wasn't trying to push extra services on me, even though that would have tripled his revenue from the trip. I'm also glad I didn't just rent a machine to try doing it myself -- it's not just the machine and his time, but his 28 years of experience. I'm not happy my blockage will probably require replacing sections of the sewer under the street (before the main sewer), but that's not Mike's fault. My town offers manual cleaning for a $75 fee, but it wasn't as effective, and the town is NOT customer-service-oriented. I'll definitely hire Essex Drain first, the next time my sewer backs up again.