Drain cleaning & drain repair in Knoxville, TN.
Standing water in the shower. A kitchen sink that gurgles. A toilet that backs up every other week. Hard Knox Plumbing clears clogged drains fast — then finds out why it clogged, so you're not calling someone again next month.
Camera inspection, cable augering, and hydro-jetting by licensed, insured technicians. Flat-rate pricing quoted before we start. Available 24/7 for sewer backups.
Clear it, then fix it
Anyone can snake a drain. We tell you why it clogged.
A clog is a symptom. Kitchen lines fill with cooled grease. Bathroom lines catch hair and soap scum. Main lines take on tree roots through joints in older clay and cast-iron pipe — very common in Knoxville's established neighborhoods. And a line with a low spot or a bad slope will collect debris forever.
Punching a hole through the blockage restores flow for a while. That's why we finish the job differently: we clear the line, then camera it when the pattern suggests something structural, and show you the footage. You see the roots, the crack, or the belly for yourself.
From there you get options and honest prices — a hydro-jet to scour the pipe clean, a spot repair on a failed section, or a full line replacement if the pipe is genuinely done. Your call, made with real information.
Sewage backing up into the house? Stop using water immediately and call 865.765.8946. We treat main line backups as emergencies, day or night.
Drain Services
Every drain in the house, plus the lines under the yard.
Kitchen & bath drains
Sinks, tubs, showers, and toilets cleared of grease, hair, soap, and whatever the kids flushed. Fixtures protected and the area left clean.
Main sewer line clearing
Whole-house backups cleared through the cleanout with professional cable equipment — not a hardware-store snake.
Video camera inspection
We run a camera down the line and show you the footage: roots, cracks, offsets, bellies, and scale, located and measured.
Hydro-jetting
High-pressure water scours grease and root hair off the full pipe wall, restoring the line to its original diameter.
Drain & sewer line repair
Spot repairs on failed sections, re-sloping bellied lines, and full lateral replacement when a pipe is beyond saving.
Prevention & maintenance
Scheduled maintenance for lines with known root pressure, plus straight advice on what should and shouldn't go down the drain.
What to Expect
How a drain call works.
We find the right access
We locate the best entry point — cleanout, fixture, or roof vent — to reach the blockage without making a mess of your home.
Clear the blockage
Professional cable equipment sized to the line. You get a flat-rate price for the clearing before we start.
Confirm with a camera
When the clog pattern points to something structural, we camera the line and show you what's actually going on down there.
Options, not pressure
If a repair is warranted we quote it plainly with the pros and cons. If it isn't, we tell you that too, and we clean up and go.
Sewer line repairs don't have to wreck the month.
Line replacement is one of the bigger plumbing expenses a homeowner faces. Financing lets you do it right — properly repaired, warrantied, permitted — without draining savings in one go.
Common Questions
Drain & sewer questions, answered.
How much does drain cleaning cost in Knoxville?
A straightforward drain clearing is priced as a flat rate you know before we start. Jobs that need camera inspection, hydro-jetting, or an actual line repair cost more — and we quote those separately once we know what we're dealing with. You'll never get an open-ended hourly bill from us.
Should I use a chemical drain cleaner first?
We'd rather you didn't. Store-bought chemical cleaners often fail to clear the real blockage, and they sit in the pipe corroding older metal drain lines and damaging seals while they wait. They also make the eventual professional visit more hazardous. A plunger or a hand auger is fine; caustic chemicals are a false economy.
Why does the same drain keep clogging?
A drain that re-clogs every few weeks isn't a clog problem, it's a pipe problem — a belly in the line, root intrusion, a failing fitting, poor slope, or heavy scale buildup. That's what a camera inspection is for. We find the actual cause so you stop paying to clear the same blockage twice a year.
What is hydro-jetting, and do I need it?
Hydro-jetting uses high-pressure water to scour the full inside diameter of the pipe, removing grease, scale, and root hair that a cable auger only punches a hole through. It's the right tool for kitchen lines caked with grease and for main lines with recurring root intrusion. We recommend it when the camera shows buildup, not by default.
My whole house is draining slowly. What does that mean?
When multiple fixtures back up at once — especially the lowest drains in the house — the blockage is usually in the main sewer line, not an individual fixture. Stop running water and call us at 865.765.8946. Continuing to run water risks a sewage backup into the lowest point of your home.
Do you use a camera to inspect drain lines?
Yes. For recurring clogs, sewer odors, or before a home purchase, we run a video camera through the line and show you exactly what we see — cracks, bellies, roots, offsets, or scale. You get a real diagnosis rather than a guess, and a recommendation with the reasoning attached.
Can tree roots really break a sewer line?
In Knoxville, absolutely — mature hardwoods and older clay or cast-iron laterals are a bad combination. Roots seek the moisture at joints, work their way in through hairline gaps, then expand until they crack the pipe. We clear them, camera the line, and talk through options from spot repair to full replacement.
Recommended by your neighbors.
“My cost was exactly what he told me over the phone. He was on time, cleaned up after the repair and was very courteous. Hard Knox Plumbing will always be my first call.”
“As I expected, my call was answered by someone who actually knew what my problem was. Danny was able to work me in today.”
“It was an amazing service. They were on time, on budget and great to work with. Very knowledgeable, very friendly, and a reasonable price.”
From the blog
Straight answers on drains & sewer.
Related Services
Related plumbing services.
Water Line Repairs
Wet spots in the yard or a jumping water bill? We locate and fix the line.
Learn more →Fixture Repair & Replacement
Faucets, toilets, sinks, and disposals repaired or upgraded cleanly.
Learn more →Hard Knox Home Club
Annual inspection, priority scheduling, and member-only repair discounts.
Learn more →Local Drain Specialists
We know Knoxville's older pipe — because we work in it daily.
Neighborhoods around Knoxville have plenty of clay and cast-iron laterals still in service, with mature trees sitting right on top of them. Hard Knox Plumbing works out of 3414 Henson Rd C, Knoxville, TN 37921 and covers everything inside 25 miles — Farragut, Hardin Valley, Lenoir City, Oak Ridge, Loudon, Alcoa, and Maryville.
Call 865.765.8946 and a real person picks up, 24 hours a day.
Drain backing up right now?
Don't wait for it to overflow. Call us.
A main line backup floods the lowest drain in your home. We answer 24/7 and treat it like the emergency it is.