Hydro jetting — clean the pipe, not just the clog.
High-pressure water that scours the full diameter of the line: roots cut back at the joint, grease stripped off the wall, years of sludge flushed to the main. Diagnosed on camera first, proven on camera after.
A cable buys weeks. Jetting buys years.
A properly jetted line typically runs three to five times longer between service than a cabled one.
A cable machine bores a hole through the blockage — water drains today, but the grease and root that stayed stuck to the wall start closing the line again almost immediately. Jetting removes the buildup itself, wall to wall, so flow is restored to the pipe's real diameter.
There's a longer-game payoff too: keeping a line clean protects the pipe. Routine jetting clears the standing sludge and root that grind at joints and hold moisture, and in many cases it lets a homeowner maintain an aging sewer line for years before the cost of a full replacement is ever justified.
- ✓Root intrusion — cut back at the joint, not punched through and left with a fringe to keep catching paper and waste.
- ✓Grease & sludge — stripped off the full wall, kitchen and restaurant lines a specialty.
- ✓Scale & buildup — years of narrowing washed back to full diameter.
- ✓Recurring backups — the line that clogs every few months usually needs cleaning, not another snake.
- ✓Pre-season & maintenance — clear it before peak load and keep it clear on a schedule.
Furnace filter. Oil change. Sewer line.
Nobody waits for the engine to seize before changing the oil. A sewer line is the same idea: routine jetting keeps flow characteristics strong and stops the gradual accumulation of grease, sludge, and debris that turns into the backup at the worst possible moment. For lines with history — old trees, past roots, a busy kitchen — a scheduled clean is cheaper and calmer than the emergency it prevents.
When we won't jet
High pressure is the right tool for most lines — but not all of them, and running it on the wrong pipe does damage. The camera pass up front is how we tell the difference.
Orangeburg and other fragile pipe. Orangeburg (the old tar-paper "no-corrode" pipe found in some mid-century homes) is brittle and delaminates — it is a poor candidate for hydro jetting and we won't run high pressure through it. Same for a line the camera shows as cracked, collapsed, or badly compromised. In those cases we tell you what we see, clear it the gentlest way that's safe if we can, and point you to the right next step — we don't force a jetting to make a sale.
Simple soft clog? A cable clearing may be all it needs — and if so, that's what we'll recommend. See drain cleaning & rooting.
Clean it once. See the proof. Keep it that way.
Most residential main-line jetting with camera verification runs $785–$1,200. Exact number after the camera look, before any work.