For decades, Murray was a smelting town. Seven smelters operated here starting in 1869, and by the early 1900s the ASARCO plant on State Street was running eight blast furnaces and employing nearly 1,500 people. When the last lead smelter closed in 1950, Murray didn’t fade — it rebuilt around State Street’s auto row, then I-15, then Fashion Place Mall in the 1970s, and eventually the old smelter grounds themselves became the site of Intermountain Medical Center. Few cities in the valley have reinvented their economy as completely as Murray has.
The city’s housing followed a similar arc, with the bulk of it going up during that mid-century-to-1970s buildout — the median Murray home dates to around 1978. Sitting dead center in the Salt Lake Valley, Murray’s neighborhoods run from older post-smelter-era streets near State Street to slightly newer construction further from the city core, which means the plumbing situation varies more block-to-block here than in some of the surrounding suburbs.
Where the Clogs Come From
Homes from Murray’s late-1960s through late-1970s building boom typically have cast iron drain lines and, depending on the block, clay or early PVC sewer laterals. Cast iron is durable but not permanent — after 45 to 55 years, internal corrosion narrows the pipe and roughens its interior, which is exactly the kind of surface that grease and soap scum cling to. Add the Wasatch Front’s hard water, which leaves mineral scale on pipe walls over time, and a drain line that was wide open when the house was new can be running at a fraction of its original capacity by now.
Murray’s central location also means a lot of established, mature street trees — decades of root systems that, on any block with clay sewer pipe, have had plenty of time to find a joint to grow into. That’s the most common cause of a recurring backup we see in Murray’s older residential pockets, as opposed to a one-time clog from something flushed or poured down a drain.
Our Process
We diagnose first. A single clogged line usually just needs cabling to break through the blockage and restore flow. A line that keeps backing up — especially near mature trees or on an older street closer to the city center — is more likely dealing with root intrusion or built-up scale along the whole pipe, which is where hydro-jetting earns its keep: it scours the entire interior wall instead of punching a single channel through. When a homeowner has had repeat problems or is buying an older Murray home and wants to know what they’re inheriting, a camera inspection gives us (and you) a clear answer before any work starts.
Why Murray Homeowners Call Action Plumbing
We’re licensed and insured, available 24/7, and we’ve built 6,054 Google reviews from homeowners across the Salt Lake Valley — including plenty of calls from Murray’s older neighborhoods near State Street and newer ones closer to Fashion Place. A city that reinvented itself once already knows the value of dealing with a problem properly instead of patching over it, and that’s how we approach every drain we clear.
Slow drains rarely get better on their own. If yours have, get it looked at before it becomes a backup at the worst possible moment.
FAQ
Q: Does Murray’s smelter history mean anything for plumbing today, or is that just historical trivia?
A: It’s mostly history at this point — the old smelter grounds are now Intermountain Medical Center, and residential plumbing wasn’t affected by the industrial operations. What does matter for plumbing is the age of the housing stock that grew up around that era, which is squarely in the cast-iron-and-clay range we watch for.
Q: My home is near State Street and older than most in Murray — what should I check first?
A: If it’s never been camera-inspected, that’s the best starting point. Older State Street–area homes are more likely to have original cast iron or clay lines, and a camera inspection tells us exactly what condition they’re in before you need cleaning or repair.
Q: Is a recurring backup near mature trees always a root problem?
A: It’s the most common cause in Murray’s older, tree-lined neighborhoods, but not the only one — scale buildup and pipe settling can also cause repeat backups. A camera inspection is the fastest way to confirm which one you’re dealing with.
Q: Do you cover the area near Fashion Place Mall and Intermountain Medical Center too?
A: Yes — our Salt Lake City–based crews serve all of Murray, from the older core near State Street out to the neighborhoods around Fashion Place and the medical center.