What does your plumber charge to unclog a sink? (drains, sinks, cost)

[akck]

Originally Posted by DubyaM

Another tip: put your garbage in the garbage can rather that down your drain.

Actually, it depends on your location. If your area has a landfill space problem, putting it down the drain is better. If you ate all the food you bring into your house, that's where the part you don't turn into energy goes.

[victimofGM]

Not saying you're doing this, but for garbage disposals you should always turn on the water and hen the disposal BEFORE putting food in the drain. You should also use ice cubes or disposal tablets to help keep disposal clean and blades sharp. Never put grease nor dry rice or beans in disposal.

As for plumber, did you call them during normal hours? They may charge a base rate just for coming out and add to the cost if work is done. You can add drain clearing enzymes to help keep lines clean. Have you considered compost? Compost food and stop using disposal.

[texdav]

Not sure as never had it done. But I know plumber charge a call out fee for going there and it can depend on miles with some and same arte as doing anything else. Then some charge a minimum of one hour for any service.

[wit-nit]

Ours, who an independent licensed plumbing contractor working alone, charges a basic $65.00 to come out and fix something plus parts.
Fixing a backed up sink is pretty much a no brainer DIY project. Just undo the P pipe connection and voila', unplugged.

[RememberMee]

An independent guy would size you up, make a guess and charge whatever he thinks you can swallow (but not less than already hefty minimal fee). That's why if you look vulnerable, unassertive or "nice" get ready to pay premium just for that.

[Jukesgrrl]

What day of the week was it and what was the time of day (or night)? Those things effect the price of someone coming to your house for any service. The first time I ever had a clog, I bought my own snake (about $25 for a manual one) and fixed it myself.

I second the tip offered earlier about potato peels. One of the worst things to put down a disposal. I read that's the cause of most emergency calls to plumbers over Thanksgiving weekend.

[DubyaM]

The reason he ran the cable thru the drain is that there could have been something downstream slowing the flow that could have caused the clog in the trap. The plumber doesn't come to your job and tell you how deep to dig so don't second-guess his work.

[nonpartisan1]

Plumbers and electricians are very well paid.

I wish we didn't have this notion that everyone has to go to college and become a lawyer or accountant. Many can make a good living at things like this (and it's hard to outsource this work overseas).

[grayrunner]

Couple things.

1 The garbage disposal is nothing more than a blender motor.

2 99% of the time just unscrewing the p trap, the curved pipe under the drain, fixes it.
All you need is a pair of channel lock pliers or even your own hands and a bucket.
Takes ten minutes max.

If it doesn't fix it you can buy a snake at Home Depot for 20$ and you'll have it next time.
No more difficult than using a toilet plunger! Ten minutes max!

These rates for plumbers are leftovers from the guilds. It takes more time( and frequently political influence in union states) to get a master plumber's license than to become a brain surgeon. A master plumber told me you only needed to know three things to take a job as a plumber. Sh** flows downhill, payday's friday, and the boss is an SOB!

[Sun Dance]

Thanks to all who made the effort to answer my question and give an opinion on the charges instead of slamming me and calling me a whiner.

This plumber is frequently used by my neighborhood and recommended for these reasons: They do good work, prices are reasonable and they do not charge a flat fee for the ride. There are frequent gatherings of neighbors with discussion of home maintenance and the costs.

I will add comments to the nice replies below and get back to work.

Originally Posted by Rabrrita

The plumber unclogged the drain that you couldn't or wouldn't do yourself and the problem is gone. What they charge is fair and reasonable if it got the job done. Did you ask what the cost was before engaging their services? How much would it cost you to do the job (time, tools, knowledge, etc.)?

Since they had been out several times before for new disposal installation two months ago which included snaking the pipes, new outfitting for relocation of washer/dryer, estimates for other things, I didn't expect the cost so didn't ask. If/when I use them again, I will ask up front.

Originally Posted by sj08054

When you pay the $165, you paid for a professional service. The snake was probably wasn't even necessary but he did just in case (better than to have to come back). Now you know what could cause the clog and if you want to save money, do it yourself.

Here is a tip for you. Lots of people like to put things in garbage disposer but don't run it with water. It's going to clog your drain pipe sooner or later. In some of my rental cases, they run it with little water so the disposer is filled with stuff and eventually burn up the disposer (pasta and rice are the worse culprit).

You're right, lots of water needs to precede the foodies.

Originally Posted by akck

Another thing, my wife used to clog our disposal all the time by stuffing potato peelings or pasta down the disposal and then turning it on. After several plugs, I looked at the piping and realized the disposal outlet was at the level of the drain pipe at the wall (retro fit disposal by previous owners). Gravity wasn't being utilized by the setup. What I did was to drop the pipe at the wall 1-2" and we no longer had any plugs. I also went with a higher horsepower disposal when we replaced it later.

You might want to check your setup to see how much drop you have. If it's very little, you might want to slowly feed waste down while the disposal and water are on. I used to do that with potato peelings and never had a plug. My wife would forget.

I'm real easy on the disposal and don't put peels of veggies and fruits down it except lemon or orange peel. This clog was caused by a handful of spaghetti that I pushed down too fast. This is the first time in my several decades of using a disposal that I've had a clog. The pipes from disposal here go to a pipe that leads straight down through the floor.

Originally Posted by Ted Bear

You don't say which market you are in, but generally speaking, I think his charge was ever so slightly on the high side.

Let's give him $75 for the travel time, and $75 for an hour of his time to actually perform the work. That's $150, and you paid a slightly higher $165.

We don't know where you are, and we don't know if you are talking about having the guy come out during the evening or on a weekend. All of those could obviously affect the rate which you were charged.

High, but certainly not outrageous.

I'm in Pinellas County Florida. Plumber's office (I think they work from home) is a few blocks from me and all contractors live on this side of the bay. The call was made yesterday morning (Friday), plumber out shortly after. As noted already, they don't charge travel time and one of the reasons recommended by neighbors. Sorry I didn't give all the details including no flat fee. I was expecting it to be no more than $75 and that's why I called instead of doing it myself.

Originally Posted by DubyaM

Many plumbers, electricians, etc. use the flat rate system these days so no matter how long it takes to fix something the price is in the book for that particular repair. Another tip: put your garbage in the garbage can rather that down your drain.

It's usually nothing more than remains on a plate, no peels, bones, coffee grounds or egg shells. In future, I won't be giving it spaghetti unless I do a few noodles at a time.

Originally Posted by victimofGM

Not saying you're doing this, but for garbage disposals you should always turn on the water and hen the disposal BEFORE putting food in the drain. You should also use ice cubes or disposal tablets to help keep disposal clean and blades sharp. Never put grease nor dry rice or beans in disposal.

As for plumber, did you call them during normal hours? They may charge a base rate just for coming out and add to the cost if work is done. You can add drain clearing enzymes to help keep lines clean. Have you considered compost? Compost food and stop using disposal.

Called plumber first thing Friday morning and they came right out. It does get ice cubes and lots of vinegar. I am careful to keep dry rice and beans away from the sink side of the kitchen.

Originally Posted by texdav

Not sure as never had it done. But I know plumber charge a call out fee for going there and it can depend on miles with some and same arte as doing anything else. Then some charge a minimum of one hour for any service.

One hour minimum is understandable. This company does not charge for the ride, all contractors nearby.

Originally Posted by RememberMee

An independent guy would size you up, make a guess and charge whatever he thinks you can swallow (but not less than already hefty minimal fee). That's why if you look vulnerable, unassertive or "nice" get ready to pay premium just for that.

You are so right! There's plenty of scammers in this part of Florida (Pinellas County) looking to fleece seniors. That's why the neighborhood works together passing on information about companies. This really is a good plumbing company and after I heard two conflicting comments yesterday, I think that maybe this particular contractor was the cause of the charges. Before writing up the invoice, he made a call to "get charges from the office." They hadn't done that before. When I called the office expressing my opinion about the charges, the woman (wife of owner) said she had gone over the invoice with James and he had charged that much because he used his electric snake drain. That's a clue, I think, but for future work I will ask up front. We live and learn, eh?

Originally Posted by nonpartisan1

Plumbers and electricians are very well paid.

I wish we didn't have this notion that everyone has to go to college and become a lawyer or accountant. Many can make a good living at things like this (and it's hard to outsource this work overseas).

It's comforting to know we can still hire Americans to do work. I think it is a good profession but there's always one wanting to take advantage.

Originally Posted by grayrunner

Couple things.

1 The garbage disposal is nothing more than a blender motor.

2 99% of the time just unscrewing the p trap, the curved pipe under the drain, fixes it.
All you need is a pair of channel lock pliers or even your own hands and a bucket.
Takes ten minutes max.

If it doesn't fix it you can buy a snake at Home Depot for 20$ and you'll have it next time.
No more difficult than using a toilet plunger! Ten minutes max!

Yep, I will take a few minutes to do it myself if that happens again and I'll get that cheap snake.

Originally Posted by wit-nit

Ours, who an independent licensed plumbing contractor working alone, charges a basic $65.00 to come out and fix something plus parts.
Fixing a backed up sink is pretty much a no brainer DIY project. Just undo the P pipe connection and voila', unplugged.

Will be doing it myself in future!

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

What day of the week was it and what was the time of day (or night)? Those things effect the price of someone coming to your house for any service. The first time I ever had a clog, I bought my own snake (about $25 for a manual one) and fixed it myself.

I second the tip offered earlier about potato peels. One of the worst things to put down a disposal. I read that's the cause of most emergency calls to plumbers over Thanksgiving weekend.

I'll be getting my own snake!