Water no longer draining from the sink, gurgling from the toilet, a smell rising from the shower trap — these are all versions of the same problem: something in the drain has narrowed. Here is what to try yourself first and when it is time to call a plumber.
Where blockages usually form
- The trap under the sink or tub — the most common spot. Hair, grease, soap.
- The flex pipe or branch line to the stack — dense sediment builds up inside.
- Your apartment stack — serious: water backs up at several fixtures at once (toilet, tub, sink).
- The building's main outlet — the blockage is outside your unit, but it floods you because you are on a lower floor.
Based on where the water "stops," a plumber can almost immediately judge the depth of the problem and which tool to bring.
What to try before calling a plumber
- Unscrew and rinse the trap under the sink — it comes off by hand, place a bucket beneath it.
- Use a plunger. Cover the overflow with a wet cloth, otherwise all the air escapes there.
- Pour boiling water (into metal pipes only!) or a drain-cleaning gel — works on grease plugs in the kitchen sink.
- Use a household 3–5 m hand snake — it reaches the first bend past the trap.
If two or three attempts have not worked, stop. Home methods will not help further, and caustic gels can damage plastic pipes.
Tools the plumber uses
- Electric snake (up to 15–25 m) — breaks up dense clogs in branch lines and stacks.
- Hydro jetting — water at 150–200 bar washes pipe walls clean, stripping grease and deposits.
- Camera inspection — if the clog keeps coming back, a camera is fed into the pipe to see what is happening: crack, sag, root intrusion.
- Local repair or relining — if the pipe itself is damaged, the plumber will suggest replacing the section or trenchless relining.
Price guide for Israel
- Clearing one fixture (sink, shower, tub) with a snake — ILS 250–450
- Clearing a toilet — ILS 300–500
- Stack or apartment outlet — ILS 500–900
- Hydro jetting — from ILS 700, depending on pipe length
- Night or Shabbat call-out — +40–70% on top of the rate
When a clog is no longer just a clog
If a cleared pipe blocks again after 2–3 weeks, the issue is not the plug but the pipe itself: it may have sagged, cracked, or had roots grow into it (a common story in private homes and lower floors). In that case, one-off cleanings do not save money — it is worth doing a camera inspection once and fixing the problem point.
FAQ
Can I pour acid or a "Krot"-type cleaner down the drain?
Into metal pipes — yes, carefully, per the instructions. Into plastic pipes (PVC, which most Israeli apartments have) — concentrated alkalis can soften joints and damage seals. If you are not sure about the pipe material, mechanical cleaning is safer.
The plumber says I need hydro jetting — is that a scam?
Not necessarily. Hydro jetting is needed when a snake punches through the plug but does not clean the walls — a couple of weeks later, the clog returns. On kitchen stacks, where walls carry years of grease, a snake alone does very little.
How long does drain cleaning take?
One fixture (sink, tub) — 20–40 minutes. A stack with travel — 1 to 1.5 hours. Hydro jetting for a whole apartment — 2–3 hours.
Blockage in the shared stack — who pays?
If the blockage is in the common part of the building (past your apartment outlet), it is the responsibility of the building committee (ועד בית). Keep the plumber report — you can later use it to request reimbursement.