We connect Memphis homeowners with independent, licensed drain and sewer contractors covering ZIP codes 37501, 38103, 38104, 38105, 38106, 38107, 38108, 38109, 38111, 38112, 38113, 38114, 38115, 38116, 38117, 38118, 38119, 38120, 38122, 38125, 38126, 38127, 38128, 38130, 38131, 38132, 38133, 38134, 38135, 38136, 38137, 38141, 38152, 38157, 38161. We do not charge you anything — the contractor who takes the call sets their own price and bills you directly.
Drain backing up in Memphis?
Tell us which fixtures are affected and we route the call to a contractor covering Memphis.
Call (888) 855-8790Drains in Memphis: what the local conditions mean
Coverage here: 35 ZIP codes
Memphis spans 35 ZIP codes, putting it among the largest areas we cover in Tennessee. At that scale the failures divide sharply: older central districts with original clay or cast-iron laterals under heavy root pressure, and newer outer areas where the pipe is sound and blockages are about what goes down it. It also means the public main can surcharge in heavy rain, which produces backups in low-lying properties that have nothing to do with your own line — if your neighbours flooded the same night, that is the likely explanation and it is not a job for a drain machine.
Housing age here: median 1968
A median build year of 1968 puts most of Memphis in the cast-iron era, and in some neighbourhoods the Orangeburg era — bituminised fibre pipe laid widely between the 1940s and 1970s, which fails by deforming into an oval rather than cracking. Cast iron of this vintage is often still sound but scaled and rough inside, which catches solids. If a camera shows an oval section rather than a round one, that is Orangeburg and it does not get better. Worth knowing: within Memphis the median ranges from 1948 to 2000 depending on which ZIP code you are in. That is a 52-year spread, which usually means an older core and newer development around it — and it means two houses a few miles apart here can have completely different pipe and completely different problems.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2023, table B25035 (median year structure built), across 25 ZIP codes.
Freeze depth: about 12 inches
The frost line in Tennessee is shallow at about 12 inches, so frozen laterals are rare in Memphis. That removes one common cause of joint movement — which means repeat blockages here are more often about roots, grease loading or pipe grade than about frost.
Water hardness: 80-180 ppm
Municipal supplies serving Memphis typically test 80-180 ppm — slightly hard to hard. Scale builds slowly on the inside of the pipe, narrowing the effective diameter and giving grease and solids something to hold onto. It rarely blocks a line on its own, but it shortens the interval between blockages.
Neither force is extreme here — which changes what usually goes wrong
Tennessee has a modest frost line at 12 inches and water at 80-180 ppm, so neither seasonal ground movement nor mineral scale dominates the way they do further north or in the hard-water states. That is genuinely good news for the pipe, and it shifts the odds: when a drain blocks in Memphis, the cause is more often what went into it, or a defect specific to that property — a belly from poor bedding, a badly cut connection, a root from one particular tree — than a condition affecting the whole street. It also means a blockage that keeps returning is worth investigating properly, because the environment is not what is causing it.
In our own Drain Risk Index, Tennessee ranks #29 of 37 covered states for environmental pressure on buried drain lines, with a composite score of 29 out of 100. That is a state-level measure built from frost depth and water hardness — it describes the conditions around Memphis, not any individual property.
Which ZIP codes we can route
We currently route drain and sewer calls for 37501, 38103, 38104, 38105, 38106, 38107, 38108, 38109, 38111, 38112, 38113, 38114, 38115, 38116, 38117, 38118, 38119, 38120, 38122, 38125, 38126, 38127, 38128, 38130, 38131, 38132, 38133, 38134, 38135, 38136, 38137, 38141, 38152, 38157, 38161. If your ZIP code is not on that list, say so when you call and we will tell you immediately rather than take your details.
Nearby towns we also cover
All 115 covered Tennessee towns → · What drain cleaning costs → · Find your symptom →
Questions from Memphis
Who does drain cleaning near me in Memphis?
Independent licensed contractors in our partner network cover Memphis ZIP codes 37501, 38103, 38104, 38105, 38106, 38107, 38108, 38109, 38111, 38112, 38113, 38114, 38115, 38116, 38117, 38118, 38119, 38120, 38122, 38125, 38126, 38127, 38128, 38130, 38131, 38132, 38133, 38134, 38135, 38136, 38137, 38141, 38152, 38157, 38161. Call the number on this page, say you are in Memphis and describe what is happening, and we route you to one of them. We do not charge you for that.
Is my Memphis ZIP code covered?
We route calls for 37501, 38103, 38104, 38105, 38106, 38107, 38108, 38109, 38111, 38112, 38113, 38114, 38115, 38116, 38117, 38118, 38119, 38120, 38122, 38125, 38126, 38127, 38128, 38130, 38131, 38132, 38133, 38134, 38135, 38136, 38137, 38141, 38152, 38157, 38161. That is the full list — we would rather tell you now than take your details and disappoint you.
I searched for a plumber near me, not drain cleaning. Same thing?
For a blocked drain, usually yes. Drain cleaner near me, rooter service near me, drain snaking near me, sewer cleaning near me and clogged drain near me nearly always describe the same visit in Memphis — the trade uses the words interchangeably. Two are genuinely different: emergency plumber near me covers burst pipes and no-water calls that are not drain work at all, and septic service near me means a property with no municipal sewer connection. What each term actually means →
Who owns the pipe between the house and the street?
In most of the US the property owner owns the lateral all the way to the main, including the section under the public footpath. That surprises people, and it is worth confirming with your municipality before agreeing to any excavation, because the answer decides who pays.
Does it matter how old the house is?
It is probably the single most useful thing you can tell a contractor. Pre-1950 usually means clay or cast iron with jointed sections that roots enter. Roughly 1950 to 1980 often means cast iron, and in some areas Orangeburg, which is bituminised fibre and fails by deforming rather than cracking. After about 1980 it is generally plastic — sound, but unforgiving of a bad fall.
Every drain in the house is slow at once.
That points past any single fixture to the main sewer line serving the whole property, and running more water tends to make it worse. What a main line clog looks like →