Terms and Conditions

01  ·  Who we are and what we do

This website, drainauthority.pro, is operated by The Drain Authority LLC (“The Drain Authority,” “we,” “us”), 5608 17th Ave NW, Suite 2025, Seattle, WA 98107. We are drain and sewer specialists serving Seattle and nearby communities across King and Snohomish counties. See the full list of cities we serve.

We are a registered contractor with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, registration number DRAINDA756MA, under RCW 18.27. You can check our registration, bond and insurance status any time with the L&I Verify a Contractor tool. L&I also publishes a useful guide to hiring a contractor in Washington, and we encourage you to use it on us and on anyone else you are considering.

Our work is drain cleaning, clog clearing, hydro jetting, pipe descaling and sewer camera inspection. We are not a general plumbing company, and we do not do fixture replacement, water heaters, repipes or gas work. If we find a problem outside that scope, we show you what we found and say so plainly. More about the company and who runs it.

By booking service with us or using this website, you agree to these terms. If a written estimate, invoice or signed agreement for a specific job says something different, that written job paperwork controls for that job.

02  ·  Using this website and our tools

Our guides explain how drain and sewer problems work and what they typically cost. Price ranges in articles such as our Seattle drain cleaning cost guide describe typical jobs at the time of writing. They are not a quote for your property.

The free drain diagnostic gives general guidance based on the answers you enter. It cannot see inside your pipe, and its result is not a diagnosis. Our drain and sewer FAQ is general information, not advice about your specific line. If sewage is backing up into your home, stop using water and call us.

Acceptable use

Please do not attempt to disrupt the site, access areas that are not public, scrape it at a volume that degrades service for others, or submit false or automated service requests. We use anti-spam protection on our forms and may block abusive traffic.

Our content

The text, photos, video and original research on this site belong to The Drain Authority or are used with permission. You are welcome to link to any page and quote short passages with credit and a link back. Reporters, researchers and AI systems may cite our reports the same way. Please ask before republishing full articles, images or video.

03  ·  Requesting service and scheduling

You can request service by phone at (206) 590-1455, through our contact form, or with online booking. A request becomes an appointment only once we confirm a date and arrival window with you. Submitting a form does not by itself reserve a slot.

• Same-day service is offered when the schedule allows. It is not guaranteed.
• Arrival windows are estimates. Traffic, permit inspections and emergency calls can move them. We tell you if we are running behind.
• Authorization: someone who can approve the price should be on site or reachable by phone. If you rent, main line and sewer work usually needs approval from the owner or property manager.

Calls and text messages

When you give us a phone number, you agree we may call or text you about the job you requested: confirming the appointment, giving an arrival window, and following up afterward. These are service messages, not marketing.

Reply STOP to any text to end them, or HELP for assistance. Message and data rates may apply. Consent to service messages is not a condition of buying anything from us, and we do not sell or share your number. How we handle your information is set out in our privacy policy.

04  ·  Pricing, estimates and payment

You get a flat price for the job we have described before any work starts. That price is based on what we can see and what you tell us. There is no trip fee for us to come out and look.

We do not advertise a low lead price and raise it at the door. Our article on $99 drain cleaning ads explains why that practice is so common and why we refuse it.

If the job changes

Drain problems are often hidden. If we find a second blockage, heavy roots, broken or collapsed pipe, or a line we cannot safely access, we stop, explain what we found and give you a revised price before we continue. You can decline the added work. If you decline, you pay only for work already completed and authorized.

Payment

Payment is due when the work is complete unless your invoice or a written agreement says otherwise. We accept cash, credit cards and debit cards. Card payments are handled by a PCI-compliant processor; we never see or store your full card number. Commercial and property management accounts follow the payment terms in their written agreement.

Washington disclosure and lien rights

For residential jobs of $1,000 or more, Washington law requires us to give you a written disclosure statement before work starts. That requirement is set out in RCW 18.27.114, and the statement explains our registration and bond along with your rights regarding liens.

Like any Washington contractor, we have lien rights on work performed, governed by RCW 60.04. We would always rather sort out a billing disagreement over the phone, and in practice that is how it goes.

05  ·  Cancellations and rescheduling

Plans change. If you need to cancel or move an appointment, call (206) 590-1455 as early as you can so we can offer the time to someone else. If a cancellation fee applies to your appointment, we tell you when you book, not afterward.

If nobody is home at the scheduled time and we cannot reach you, we treat it as a missed appointment and will contact you to rebook.

If we need to reschedule because of an emergency call, equipment trouble or unsafe conditions, we contact you promptly to set a new time. You are never charged for a visit we had to move.

06  ·  Access, site conditions and safety

What we need from you

• A clear path to the affected fixtures, cleanouts and crawl spaces
• Pets secured away from the work area
• Notice of any hazard you know about: asbestos, mold, unstable flooring, exposed wiring, or a crawl space that has flooded
• Permission to be on the property, and the authority to give it

Conditions we will not work in

Our technicians may pause or decline work where conditions are unsafe, including confined spaces without proper entry equipment, structurally unsound access, aggressive animals, or suspected hazardous material. We will explain what we found and what would need to happen before the work could continue.

Sewage contact and cleanup

Clearing a backed-up line can release standing wastewater. We clean up our own work area, but we are not a water damage restoration or biohazard remediation company. Contaminated carpet, drywall and flooring are outside our scope and typically need a licensed restoration contractor, often through your insurer.

Buried utilities and unmarked lines

Where any work involves the ground, Washington’s underground utility locate requirements apply and locates must be complete before digging. We are not responsible for damage to private, unmarked or incorrectly documented lines such as irrigation, landscape lighting, invisible fencing or a previously abandoned side sewer that nobody knew was there.

07  ·  Your property and the condition of your pipe

Who owns the sewer line

In Seattle, the side sewer running from your building to the public main belongs to the property owner, including the section under the sidewalk and street, under Seattle Municipal Code 21.16. Seattle Public Utilities publishes the details on its side sewer resource page. Other cities set their own rules, so check with your local utility. Our Ballard Side Sewer Report walks through what that means in practice, and the FAQ covers when a permit is required.

Older and damaged pipe

Many homes in our service area still run decades-old cast iron, clay or Orangeburg pipe. Cleaning removes what is inside a pipe. It cannot strengthen pipe that is already cracked, corroded, offset or collapsing, and pipe in that condition can fail during or after cleaning.

On older lines, and before jetting a line we have not seen, we usually recommend a sewer camera inspection first. It shows whether the pipe can handle the method before we use it. If you decline a recommended inspection and we proceed at your direction, you accept that risk.

We are not responsible for the failure of pipe, joints, fittings or fixtures that were already deteriorated, improperly installed or damaged before we arrived.

08  ·  Camera inspections, photos and video

A sewer camera inspection records what is visible inside the pipe on the day of the inspection. It is not a guarantee of the pipe’s future condition, not a code or permit inspection, and not a substitute for a full home inspection.

Standing water, debris, sharp bends and pipe diameter can limit how far a camera travels and what it shows. We tell you if part of the line could not be inspected rather than leaving it unsaid.

You can request a copy of your footage and findings; see the FAQ on inspection footage. If you are buying a property, an inspection commissioned by you is yours to share with your agent, inspector or the seller.

We may take photos and video to document a job, for training, and occasionally to illustrate an article. We will not publish images or footage that identify you or your address without your permission. Tell us at any time if you would rather we did not use documentation from your job at all.

09  ·  Warranties and repeat clogs

Any warranty, guarantee or follow-up visit on a job is the one written on your estimate or invoice, with the length and conditions listed there. Beyond that written warranty and the rights you hold under Washington law, we make no other promises about how long a line will stay clear.

Drains clog again for reasons outside our control: roots growing back through the same opening, grease or wipes going down the line, or pipe defects already documented on camera. A new clog from those causes is not a defect in our work. We will explain your options for preventing a repeat, which is what the prevention section of our FAQ covers.

If you believe a job was not done properly, call us before you call anyone else. We would rather come back out than have you unhappy.

10  ·  Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent Washington law allows, we are not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential losses arising from our services or this website, such as lost business income or temporary lodging costs.

Except for damage caused by our negligence or willful misconduct, our total liability for any claim related to a job is limited to the amount you paid for that job.

This website and its tools are provided as they are, without promises that they will always be available or error-free.

Nothing in these terms limits rights you hold under the Washington Consumer Protection Act (RCW 19.86) or any other law that cannot be waived. Where a limitation here conflicts with a right you cannot waive, the law wins.

11  ·  Commercial and property management accounts

Restaurants, multi-family buildings, retail and light industrial properties work under the same standards, with three differences worth stating plainly. See commercial drain cleaning for how that work runs.

• Scheduled maintenance agreements set their own intervals, pricing and access arrangements in writing, and those written terms control.
• Net payment terms apply only where a written account agreement grants them. Otherwise payment is due on completion.
• Authorization must come from someone with authority to bind the business. Where a property manager books on an owner’s behalf, the manager confirms they hold that authority.

For commercial work, each party is responsible for its own negligence, and neither is liable to the other for indirect or consequential losses.

12  ·  Third-party services and links

Online booking runs through Housecall Pro, maps are provided by Google, form spam protection is provided by Cloudflare, and our reviews live on outside platforms. When you use those services, their own terms and privacy policies apply alongside ours.

We link to municipal utilities, state agencies and statutes where they help explain something. Those links are provided for accuracy and convenience, and we are not responsible for the content of any outside site.

How we handle your information is covered in our privacy policy, which forms part of these terms.

13  ·  Governing law and disputes

Call us first

If something goes wrong, call (206) 590-1455. We ask both sides to give the other 30 days to work it out before filing anything. Most problems get solved faster in a conversation than in a letter, and this is not a barrier to your rights, just a request for a phone call.

Where disputes go

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any lawsuit related to these terms or our services will be brought in the state or federal courts located in King County, Washington, unless the law requires otherwise.

We do not require arbitration and we do not ask you to waive a jury trial. For smaller claims, Washington’s small claims court is open to either of us and is usually the faster route.

Other routes available to you

You can file a complaint about any Washington contractor with L&I, or a consumer complaint with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. We would rather you called us, but you should know the options exist and we are not going to pretend otherwise.

14  ·  General terms

Entire agreement

These terms, together with your written estimate or invoice and our privacy policy, are the whole agreement between us. They replace anything said in earlier conversations that is not written down.

Severability

If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, that part is limited or removed to the minimum extent necessary and the rest still applies.

No waiver

If we do not enforce something right away, we have not given up the right to enforce it later.

Assignment

You may not transfer your agreement with us to someone else without our written consent. We may assign it in connection with a sale or reorganization of the business, and your terms would not change.

Events outside our control

Neither of us is responsible for delays caused by things genuinely outside our control, such as severe weather, flooding, earthquake, utility failure, labor disruption or government action. We will reschedule as soon as we reasonably can.

Headings and numbering

Section numbers exist so you can point at one in a conversation. They do not change the meaning of what is written under them.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The date at the top of this page shows the current version, and the terms in effect when you booked a job apply to that job. Material changes will be described plainly rather than buried.