Areas We Serve

Areas We Serve

Why Is My Basement Floor Drain Backing Up?

Imagine heading down to the basement and spotting water bubbling up through the floor drain. Initially, you think it’s just some water you can mop up. But then it spreads across the floor, carrying a foul smell or worse, sewage.

This problem happens more often than you’d think. Between heavy rainstorms, aging sewer lines, and tree roots infiltrating old pipes, many homeowners encounter basement drain backup. Thankfully, quick action with the right help can prevent it from becoming a disaster. That’s where 2 Sons Plumbing Seattle comes in—we’ve helped families solve these emergencies for years.

What You Can Do Right Away

When water starts pushing up from a basement drain, every step counts. While you’re waiting for a plumber, here are a few things that can make a big difference:

Stop using water in the house – Even one flush or load of laundry adds to the mess.
Check your outside cleanout – If you have one, carefully loosen the cap. Sometimes that relieves pressure and confirms the line is blocked.
Vacuum up what you can – A wet/dry vac controls the situation.
Keep kids and pets away – Backing up water is dirty and unsafe.

These steps may not fix the cause, but they help you protect your home until professionals arrive. If you backed up the basement drain, treat it as an emergency and get help immediately.

Why Basements Back Up in Seattle

There’s always a reason behind a floor drain backup. In most cases, it’s the main sewer line. Here in Seattle, tree roots are a frequent culprit. They find tiny cracks in older pipes, work their way in, and trap debris to form a big clog.

Rainy weather adds another layer. When the city’s combined sewer and storm systems are overwhelmed, water can flow back into basements. Other times, grease buildup, “flushable” wipes, or even collapsed sections of pipe are to blame. Whatever the cause, the result is the same: water and waste heading the wrong direction – inside your home.

When to Call a Plumber

A slow sink or shower can sometimes wait. A basement backup can’t. You should contact a professional if:

Sewage or bad smells are coming from the drain.
More than one drain in your home is backing up.
Water comes back soon after you clean it up.

At 2 Sons Plumbing, we use sewer cameras, augers, and hydro jetting to clear the problem at its source. Snaking usually costs $300–$700, while jetting runs $600–$1,400 depending on how severe the blockage is. It’s not just a fix—it’s protection against repeat messes and long-term damage.

Seattle’s Trusted Team for Basement Drain Backups

When your basement floods, it’s not just about the water. It’s the stress, the smell, and the fear it could happen again. That’s why so many Seattle families trust 2 Sons Plumbing. We show up fast, explain things in plain language, and get your system working again.

Don’t wait if your basement floor drain is backing up. Call 2 Sons Plumbing Seattle at (206) 487-1757. We’ll arrive quickly, clear the blockage, and give you back the comfort and peace of mind you deserve.

2 Sons Plumbing, Electrical, Heating & Air

4.9

Based on 3632 reviews

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Oksana Naidu

21:38 04 Mar 26

Highly recommend 2 Sons. We had a leak in the master bath due to some malfunctioning fixtures and needed to install shut off valves on the hot and cold water lines to prevent further leaks while we waited on the faulty part replacements to be delivered. It was a treat to work with a professional and honest plumbing company that also does quality work. A great experience from first call to post-completion follow ups. Marcos, who was assigned to our job, was just awesome - thorough, efficient, knowledgeable, professional, courteous and helpful. He took his time to fully assess the issue, provided great options and then quickly repaired the problem. Thanks so much for great service in a stressful situation.

Oksana Naidu

21:38 04 Mar 26

Happy Lemon

01:28 04 Mar 26

We had an outstanding experience with this company! They provided incredibly fast, careful, and professional service for our commercial business. From start to finish, their customer service was absolutely excellent-responsive, friendly, and truly attentive to our needs.

A special thank you to our technician, ADAM, who did an exceptional job fixing our clogged hand sink. He was knowledgeable, efficient, and extremely professional & polite. He quickly resolved it with great skill and attention to detail.

Highly recommended!

Happy Lemon

01:28 04 Mar 26

Louisa

21:24 25 Feb 26

Trung our tech and his apprentice Cole did a fantastic job yesterday. They worked tirelessly to replace our old CPVC pipes, install our new shower, and replace our kitchen sink. The job had a multitude of delays due our pipes not being plumb and some extra wall demo. They worked for at least 13+ hours yesterday and left our home at 11 pm. Trung wanted to ensure that we didn't have our water off longer than necessary. We could not be more thankful and grateful for their efforts in the rough in for our bathroom remodel. We look forward to having them back to install the shower/ tub combo, new bathroom faucet, and new toilet with a bidet seat. Trung always went out of his way to explain what was going on and helped us make informed decisions about our home. This is our 3rd or 4th time using 2 Sons and we couldn't recommend them more!

Louisa

21:24 25 Feb 26

Kathy Cook

18:02 19 Feb 26

I have to say Bob was amazing!!! I had a clogged drain in my kitchen sink. Bob came in and took every precaution to be neat & clean. He explained to me what he was going to do and gave me the pricing and I agreed and he got to work. He was super kind and polite and fixed my drain issue. He was a pleasure to work with. I would highly recommend using 2 Sons!

Kathy Cook

18:02 19 Feb 26

Emily Speakman

22:53 16 Feb 26

Had issues at home with water backup. Dave was prompt, professional, and genuinely kind. He communicated between myself and my landlord, explaining the issues and next steps. He quickly put an interim solution in place and outlined the long-term needs. Felt super reliable and easy to work with — highly recommend 2 Sons Plumbing.

Emily Speakman

22:53 16 Feb 26

Frank Church V

22:16 15 Feb 26

We contacted these Plumbers on a Friday using Yelp quotes, and they were the fastest to reply and the fastest to engage with us when we had questions. We felt that warranted to give them the opportunity to give us the first consultation. Sometimes we get multiple consults if we get any icky feeling from the people doing it. We didn’t feel that way with this company.

Our toilet was leaking, and we expected we probably could use a new one. But wanted a professional estimate and options.

We got hooked up with their team to schedule it and they were able to give us a time only a day out. We asked for a 8-1pm window and received automated text and a formal phone call from a dispatcher saying how far out the plumber technician was.

The plumber who showed up was named Carey. We also a received a picture of him before he arrived for safety concerns which I thought was a good touch of care from the company. Carey was lights-out the best guy we could have asked for.

He showed up within the approximate eta and was kind, gracious, considerate of our space and gave us a myriad of options. He quoted us prices that felt quite fair, and we chose the option where he removes the toilet and chooses a toilet for us: though we talked about the various options beforehand.
All and all he left for 30 min to get the toilet: and returned to install it. Installation was complete within another 30 minutes.

He was so good man. And we just felt like this is how service and care and things should be in this world. It’s always refreshing when you get that. Because so many outfits just: make you regret everything.

The work was quick, professional, and he was happy to be there and gave us information every step of the way that we respected and appreciated.

We will use this company in the future. You earned our respect and business.

Frank Church V

22:16 15 Feb 26

Sitong Liu

07:46 04 Feb 26

I initially hired this company to address a leak in my water service line. Due to repeated misdiagnosis and unsuccessful repair attempts, the work ultimately escalated into a full water service line replacement, resulting in a final cost far higher than what I had initially expected. While the replacement is now completed and functioning, the overall experience was frustrating and poorly managed.

From the start, pricing and expectations were unclear. I was told repair costs couldn’t be determined until excavation, yet on the day of work—before anything began—I was asked to sign for a high fixed repair price based on assumptions that were never discussed during the estimate.

The first repair attempt failed, and the leak clearly continued. No further investigation was done, I was required to pay in full, and I was told a discount would only apply if I committed to a full water service line replacement the same day, before the issue was properly resolved.

After paying for a second leak detection myself, the original leak was confirmed to still be present. Management involvement was requested but delayed, and during a follow-up visit I was asked to sign a new agreement stating the work was only a “repair attempt” with no warranty, despite the original repair being sold as warrantied.

I later proceeded with the water service line replacement based on specific assurances about the final cost, but the estimate I received did not align with those assurances. Throughout the process, I had to make multiple phone calls and send repeated emails over several days just to get responses.

While the final replacement works, the lack of technical competence, shifting pricing and warranty terms, and consistently poor communication made this an unnecessarily stressful experience. I would not use this company again.

Sitong Liu

07:46 04 Feb 26

DyAndreye Wray

20:14 03 Feb 26

Carey and Mycha came over to do some plumbing work at my residence and did an amazing job from beginning to end.
I appreciate the great communication and great service and it was done in a timely fashion. Thank you for the service & I look forward to doing business with you again!

DyAndreye Wray

20:14 03 Feb 26

Tanya Hines

18:09 02 Feb 26

Dave from 2 Sons Plumbing was fantastic! He arrived on time, quickly diagnosed the issues and turned out nothing needed to be fixed so was honest about that. And that’s appreciated! Very professional and Excellent communication! I will definitely be using 2 Sons Plumbing again for any plumbing needs and also I have already recommended to my parents! I will also be Highly recommending to my friends, family and acquaintances!

Tanya Hines

18:09 02 Feb 26

Ashley Arata

23:22 29 Jan 26

Carey and Micah came out on short notice when our tankless water heater started leaking unexpectedly. They were able to provide an extremely competitive quote on site and schedule us for installation the next day. We had some other pre-scheduled contractors in our home when they did the installation and they were extremely professional and courteous in making space for them to share space. I also appreciate how they cleaned up after work was completed. Overall wonderful guys and our second time using 2 Sons (once prior was to have a sewer line cleared) and we'd absolutely use them again. Thanks, Micah & Carey for the work!

Ashley Arata

23:22 29 Jan 26