FAQs

Sanitary Sewer Lines

Keeping your sanitary sewer line clean, open and in good repair reduces the risk of blockages, a basement backup and raw sewage leaking into the groundwater. Maintaining your sanitary sewer line is simple. Understanding what your sanitary sewer line is, how it works, and contacting CityWide Sewer & Drain Service Corp. is all you need to do. Maintaining your Sanitary Sewer Line is every homeowner’s responsibility.

What is a Sanitary Sewer Line?

Your “Sanitary Sewer Line” is the sewer line that connects your home to the public sewer system. Wastewater from your toilets, sinks, showers, and washing machine travels through your sanitary sewer line to the public sewer main line which carries it to the nearest wastewater plant for treatment.

If your sanitary sewer line is broken or leaking, raw sewage could be seeping into the groundwater. Groundwater passes to your neighbors’ yards, to creeks, to streams, into Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.

What Can Cause My Sanitary Sewer Line To Clog, Crack Or Break?

Blockages are most often caused by excessive buildups of grease (a result of pouring cooking grease and fat down the kitchen sink). When flushed, plastic and other non-soluble materials such as baby wipes, diapers, feminine products, and kitty litter can also get caught in the line and block the flow of wastewater through the system.

Tree and shrub roots that have grown into the line are also a common problem. Sanitary sewer lines installed prior to 1980 in Nassau and Suffolk Counties are primarily made of cast iron or clay and can deteriorate or become brittle over time. Roots seek water and will find their way through cracks and holes causing blockages and further damage. Unfortunately, contractors can also cause damage to sewer lines due to inexperience and improper tool usage.

What Do I Need To Do?

You need to call CityWide Sewer & Drain Service to have your sanitary sewer line inspected. A video inspection camera will be fed through your line so you can view the condition of the line; then your line will be cleaned and cleared of any blockages and repairs made if necessary. This helps CityWide provide you with the most cost-efficient way to repair your line. CityWide is Long Island’s largest and most trusted sewer and drain cleaning company, and for good reason; all work is performed by experienced and Licensed CityWide Plumbers.

CityWide is Long Island’s largest and most trusted sewer and drain cleaning company, and for good reason; all work is performed by experienced and Licensed CityWide Plumbers.

Cesspools

How does a Cesspool or Septic System work?

Wastewater flows from your Residence into the septic tank or main cesspool.

The organic liquid waste floats at the top and the solid waste and inorganic sludge falls to the bottom.

The natural bacteria generated inside the system converts the floating waste into sludge and liquid.

The liquid between the “floating solids” and the “sludge” layers flows into the leaching secondary tank where it drains through the sides and bottom in a cesspool or flows out to the septic field in a septic system.

Why Does a Cesspool/Septic System Fail?

When a septic tank/main cesspool is not properly maintained, solids will build up within the septic tank/main cesspool and eventually push through and into the leaching cesspool(s). This clogs the sand bottoms and can permanently destroy the drainage. Detergents, toilet cleaners, bleach, anti-bacterial soaps, and disinfectants can kill the natural bacteria in the septic system. It is essential to keep the bacteria levels in your system well balanced for optimum performance.

What Should I Do When My System is Full and Requires Service?

If CityWide has determined that the cesspool system is full or requires service, we may elect pumping, aeration and drainage additives as in sulfuric acid to help restore drainage.

What our customers are saying

I called after using another “reputable” plumbing service that ripped me off. I got a call back within an hour, the service man showed up in 15 minutes and fixed in one hour what another company came twice to do without installing vents and pitching pipes. And cheaper than the “reputable” guys. Thank you to city wide and especially Frank M. Very professional, clean and knowledgeable!

- From Caroline Brucculeri

City Wide delivers premiere trust worthy service. We recently purchased a home and unfortunately ran into some plumbing issues. City Wide came highly recommended by people that live on our block. They came out and trouble shot the problem at no charge. They’re team made themselves available to us over the phone and walked us through everything in terms we could understand. They worked around our schedule and were extremely clean, efficient, and professional.

- From Mike Dwyer

Called early in the morning, had a clog backing up sewage into the slop sink downstairs. They scheduled a plumber to come within 2 hours. Plumber Frank arrived in about 1 1/2 hours. Gloved and masked(the machine was "gloved and masked" also). Frank came in, found the problem, and had us going again in about 20 minutes. He was polite, courteous, professional, and showed genuine concern for us. He cleaned up when done. Very neat worker(There was almost no mess anyway). Job well done. Price was reasonable. I will not hesitate to call them again. Thank you Frank and Citywide!!!

- From johnny c.

Frank came this morning to unclog a main drain pipe and trap. He was a bit late because he was held up at another job, but he was worth the wait. He diagnosed the problem immediately and fixed it. What impressed me most was his concern about keeping my home clean. He put a tarp under the machine, he wraps the wheels of the machine in plastic so they don't dirty the floor, he cleaned and removed the debris that he took out of the trap, and he wiped the floor before he left. I don't remember seeing that in the past. He gets five stars plus for his work. And throughout he was so nice and pleasant. Thank you Frank. And thank you to all of those who helped starting at 5:38 am this morning.

- From David Diamond

Gentlemen were very friendly, explaining everything as they went. Total transparency and willingness to make sure the job was done properly, sooner rather than later, regardless of how hard or hot it was. Definitely recommend

- From A Google User

I decided to use Citywide based on the reviews here on Google and was not disappointed. We had a leaking kitchen drain pipe for the longest time and it just got to a point where we were emptying the bucket after every use vs once per week. Additionally we had slow drain rate so I asked them to snake the drain for me. Citywide was able to send Sergio over and He fixed it by replacing the strainer, gaskets section only. He didn't think we needed the drain unclogged and was confident this fix would also fix the slow drain rate and it did! Same day service, fast, and friendly service both on scheduling ( Thank you George) and with Sergio ! I highly recommend Citywide!

- From David Louie

Extremely professional, friendly, and prompt service. Technician diagnosed and solved my problem within minutes after arriving at my home. I would highly recommend, and would not hesitate to call on them for any further plumbing problems or services.

- From Bob Steinmann

We are very pleased with the service we received. Thank you

- From Sheila DeFazio

The tech was knowledgeable and went out his way to pinpoint problems. Price was also lower than many others!

- From Omar Garin

I called around 6A looking for someone to come out and they said they would have someone there within an hour. I opted for a later time at 9A. The technician that showed up was Abel and he was great. He took a look at the leak and did a few tests to find out where it was coming from. He explained what he needed to do and he how much it would cost. He was patient and very knowledgeable. Great customer service.

- From Cheryl Kellam