Kitchen sink, main line, or commercial grease trap—calculate the full cost to clear a drain including method, camera inspection, and labor so you quote the right number and use the right tool.
A cable snake punches a hole through a blockage; hydro-jetting scours the pipe wall. For grease-lined kitchen lines or scale-heavy main lines, snaking gives the customer 6 months of relief before the blockage is back. Hydro-jetting at 3,000–4,000 PSI restores full pipe capacity. Offer both as options with honest timelines—a customer who understands why they're paying more for hydro-jetting doesn't call it expensive. One who doesn't understand calls you back in 3 months and says it didn't work.
A camera run after clearing a main line takes 20–30 minutes and charges $150–$300. It also protects you: if you show the customer the pipe condition on video, you've documented what you found, what you cleared, and what's still there (root intrusion, offset joint, cracked pipe). That video record is your defense if they call back claiming the same blockage. And if you find a cracked pipe or root invasion, it becomes a $3,000–$12,000 repair estimate.
A kitchen drain that blocks every 3–4 months isn't a grease problem—it's a pipe problem: low slope, offset joint, or undersized diameter. A main line that roots get into every season needs lining or replacement, not annual snaking. Use recurring calls as diagnostic data, not just revenue. A customer you tell the truth to (and sell a repair to) is worth more than a customer you snake annually for 10 years. Document everything: date, method, findings, recommendation.
The Plumber's Business Starter Kit includes a flat-rate price book for 40 common plumbing jobs, service agreement template, and morning dispatch checklist. Guide from $19 — Complete Kit with all 19 templates, $49.
Get the Plumber's Kit →Drain cleaning pricing should reflect the drain type, access difficulty, method (snake vs. hydrojetting), and whether a camera inspection is included. This calculator builds a complete drain cleaning quote from those variables so you're not pricing every job the same when the work varies significantly. Use it to stop leaving money on hydrojetting jobs and to capture the value of camera add-ons.