A slow drain rarely shows up out of nowhere. In most homes, it starts as a small change you barely notice: the kitchen sink takes a few extra seconds to clear, the shower backs up a little during a long rinse, or the bathroom sink gurgles when you run the water. In Massachusetts, those “small” signs matter because they often turn into weekend emergencies at the worst possible time. Cold snaps can expose weak spots in older plumbing. Heavy rain or snowmelt can overwhelm alread

Every winter, Rhino Rooter gets calls from homeowners in Belmont, Newton, Lexington, Cambridge and nearby communities dealing with frozen pipes, sewer backups, and water heater failures. In many cases, the problem didn’t start overnight. A drain may have been running slowly for weeks. A basement pipe may have been exposed to cold drafts. A water heater may have been making noise long before it stopped working. Then a stretch of freezing weather pushes the system past its brea