How we handle the job
Jetting is not the first thing we reach for. We start with a camera so we know the pipe is whole; pushing high-pressure water into a broken clay joint or a collapsed section can make things worse. When the pipe is sound, we feed a hose tipped with a rear-facing nozzle in through a cleanout. Water streaming backward drives the hose forward and blast the walls clean as it is drawn back toward the opening.
- Camera check of the line and its condition
- Choice of nozzle: a penetrating head for packed stoppages, a spinning head for grease and scale
- Jetting from the cleanout, working downstream toward the city connection
- A second camera pass to show you the cleaned pipe
Signs you need hydro jetting
- A main or kitchen line that has needed a cable more than once in a year
- A camera view showing a thick ring of grease or scale
- Fine root hair returning after mechanical cutting
- Sludge in a commercial or multi-unit drain shared by several kitchens
- A pipe that drains, but slowly, even right after cleaning
Older lakeshore streets in Bay Ridges and West Shore have clay or early plastic laterals running beneath mature maples and willows, and roots find every joint.
Pickering homes and this problem
Older lakeshore streets in Bay Ridges and West Shore have clay or early plastic laterals running beneath mature maples and willows, and roots find every joint. Restaurants and plazas along Kingston Road and in the City Centre deal with grease far more than houses do. For roots that keep returning, read tree roots in sewer lines; for damaged pipe, sewer line repair is the next step.
What affects the cost
- Length and diameter of the line
- Whether a cleanout is available or must be installed
- How heavy the grease or root load is
- Camera inspection before and after
- Access in finished basements
What you can do first
Keep grease out of the kitchen sink by wiping pans into the green bin. Note which fixtures back up and when, and tell us whether the house has a front-yard or basement cleanout. If you know the lateral has been repaired before, mention that too; it tells us what material the pipe changes to along the way.
Questions callers ask
Can hydro jetting damage my pipes?
On sound pipe, no. On cracked or offset pipe it can, which is why we look with a camera first.
Is jetting better than snaking?
For a one-off clog a cable is quicker and cheaper. Jetting earns its keep on lines that clog repeatedly from grease, scale or fine roots.