Areas We Serve

Areas We Serve

Why Is My Basement Floor Drain Overflowing?

You go down to the basement and stop.?There’s water on the floor—maybe a small puddle, maybe more. You smell that damp, sewer-like odor and your stomach sinks. It’s the drain. It’s backing up.

If your basement floor drain is overflowing, it usually means the main line is blocked or water’s being forced back in from outside. Around Tacoma, that happens for two common reasons — a clog somewhere in the sewer pipe, or stormwater flooding the system after one of those long, heavy rains.

At 2 Sons Plumbing Tacoma, we see this happening all the time around here. The important thing is to act fast—before it turns into a full-on mess.

What’s Going On

Your basement drain connects to the same pipe that carries everything else out of your house. When that pipe gets blocked, the water can’t escape, so it comes back up the way it came.

Common causes:

Clogged sewer line. Grease, roots, or old buildup slowing the flow.
Stormwater overflow. Tacoma’s rain can push too much water into shared lines.
Broken pipes. Older clay or cast iron pipes sometimes crack or cave in.
When that happens, the basement drain is the first to give you a warning.

What You Can Do Right Now

If it’s clean water—not sewage—you can do a few things to hold it off until help arrives:

Stop using water. Don’t flush, shower, or run sinks.
Find the cleanout cap. It’s a white plastic cap near your foundation or outside. Loosen it a little to release pressure.
Get up the water. A wet vac works if it’s clean. If it’s dirty or smells like sewage, don’t touch it.
If sewage is coming up, call for help right away. Don’t try to clean or unclog it yourself.

When to Call a Plumber

If water or sewage keeps rising—or if it’s happened before—it’s time to bring in a plumber. That means your main line is blocked or damaged.

At 2 Sons Plumbing Tacoma, we’ll run a camera down the pipe to see what’s going on. If it’s a clog, we’ll clear it with a drain snake or hydro-jetter. If it’s a bigger issue, like roots or a broken section, we’ll show you exactly where it is and what to do next.

We deal with this every week in Tacoma homes. You’re not alone, and it’s fixable.

What It Might Cost

Clearing a line with a snake usually runs about $300–$700. Hydro-jetting—a deeper clean—costs $600–$1,400, depending on how bad it is. It’s not cheap, but letting it go can lead to flooding, damaged floors, or mold, which costs way more.

Call 2 Sons Plumbing Tacoma

If your basement drain is backing up, don’t wait. Every hour makes it worse. Call 2 Sons Plumbing Tacoma at (206) 487-1757. We’ll come out, find the problem, and get that water going the right way again.

You deserve a dry basement—and peace of mind.

2 Sons Plumbing, Electrical, Heating & Air

4.9

Based on 3335 reviews

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Oaktree President

22:17 24 Oct 25

Our house decided to replace our own toilet, but we got stuck halfway through because we didn’t have the right tools and accidentally broke an anchor bolt. I called 2 Sons Plumbing, and they showed up within an hour to help us out. Derek, our plumber, was super friendly, explained everything clearly, and got the job done quickly and professionally. Excellent service all around—highly recommend!

Oaktree President

22:17 24 Oct 25

Victor Garcia

20:12 23 Oct 25

Dave and David came and cleared out a huge clog in my kitchen sink (both sides) that has been plaguing us for a while as well a ton of glass shards that got into the drain when our glass fridge shelf broke. Dave walked us through each step of the process and explained everything which was excellent. He also gave us advice about galvanized piping replacement. They even gave us a few free parts for the sink drain that had eroded away and didn’t charge extra for it!! All around 5 star service!!!

Victor Garcia

20:12 23 Oct 25

Steve P

20:40 21 Oct 25

Fantastic service and communication. Local company. Solved my clogged basement laundry utility sink. Dave and David were courteous, informative, professional and easy to engage with. Scheduling was easy (they came the next day) and they arrived within the expected time window. Transparent pricing and i could also apply a coupon. I will use them again.

Steve P

20:40 21 Oct 25

Ashton Wylde

05:46 21 Oct 25

Great service and Dave their plumber is the best. We have an odd house with even odder plumbing. The pipes are a mess of grandfathered-in open air nonsense, when our pump started making some noises (and a little leaking) after some DIY heat tape adventures (getting ready for colder weather), we were worried that we would need a massive repair but Dave came and looked at it and immediately realized we had unplugged the float plug from the pump plug which was 90% of the problem and the leak just need a little tightening of a flex joint. The company was quick and didn't charge for an estimate or in this case a quick "thats not plugged in right". The experience and the overall professionalism has convinced me that when I do finally need that big repair job, I'll call these guys.

Ashton Wylde

05:46 21 Oct 25

Spencer Charles

05:07 20 Oct 25

Booking an appointment was extremely easy, and we were able to get one just the next day. Communication was excellent with timely reminders and a call before our appointment. Kerry did a fantastic job both advising us and effectively resolving our issue.

Spencer Charles

05:07 20 Oct 25

LuAnn Mitchell

02:38 14 Oct 25

I have all good things to say about 2 Sons Plumbing. My first experience was a few years ago and the whole process went very smoothly. Making the appointment was easy and quick, the repair was done with no problem and I thought the price was fair. Recently, Dave from 2 Sons came out to look at several plumbing problems I was having and, within a matter of minutes, all of the problems were diagnosed. Dave gave me options and estimates all before he left my house. I haven’t had the work done yet but appreciate the information and the prices seemed fair to me. Dave was on time, professional and very knowledgeable. 2 Sons are my go to Plumbers.

LuAnn Mitchell

02:38 14 Oct 25

Kayla Huitt

16:58 13 Oct 25

Bob at 2 Sons Plumbing was amazing! We had a horribly backed up kitchen sink drain and he was able to fix it, and save us some money in the process! He heard what we had to say about our issue and double checked everything. Super friendly and very helpful. Thank you for the amazing work Bob!

Kayla Huitt

16:58 13 Oct 25

Mingmin Zhu

00:31 11 Oct 25

I had great experience with Chase, Riley, Seth, Manu, Nolan with a recent fix. They showed up promptly, transparent about the price upfront, set the expectations right, very professional, got things done perfectly, great communication and very honest and patient to answer all my questions, I will definitely use 2 sons again and will recommend it to my friends and neighbors.

Mingmin Zhu

00:31 11 Oct 25

Arul Menezes

00:41 10 Oct 25

Stellar job by Carey and his team at 2sons today. I had a complex job -- installing a yard hydrant/faucet for a garden across the (private) street. They had to go into the floor of the garage, run piping under the floor, out of the house, across the road. Had to cut into the asphalt, trench down a couple feet, then patch it all up again, including fixing the garage concrete floor. Super job. Looks really clean. Got it all done in a day.

Arul Menezes

00:41 10 Oct 25

First Name

00:04 10 Oct 25

A wonderful experience every time with 2 Sons plumbing. Jake and Angelo helped us with our plumbing issue. They showed up on time and gave a very reasonable estimate for the repair. We ended up replacing a couple of toilets and a part of a sink drain. They came back the next day to complete the work due to our schedule. Excellent communication, prompt, and hard working! Thank you so much Jake and Angelo!! We are very happy with 2 Sons and have used them multiple times.

First Name

00:04 10 Oct 25