In the past, a blocked sewer line was the stuff of nightmares for homeowners. Replacing a damaged or blocked sewer line involved digging up the damaged or affected segment of pipe (which could involve tearing into things like decks, patios, or sidewalks), cutting the damaged section out, and then replacing it with a new pipe. The entire job was expensive, time-consuming, and often meant an expensive property remodel when the job was done.
Today, however, that doesn’t have to be the case. Blocked or dirty sewer lines do not need to be extracted out of the ground, at least not every time. Instead, you can simply clean out your sewer line and eliminate blockages with a treatment known as
hydrojetting. In fact, this service is so powerful and effective that plumbers and sewer specialists are often turning to it as the primary method for attempting to solve sewer problems where possible. In this blog, we will explain how a hydrojetting service works and hopefully answer a few questions you might have about it.
What Is Hydrojetting?
To put it as simply as possible, hydrojetting is sort of like a pressure scrubbing and washing service for the inside of your sewer line. Much like pressure washing can clean the side of your house or scrub the paint off your deck, hydrojetting scrubs the inside of your sewer line to remove all kinds of debris and grime that may have built up over the years. This grime is what causes blockages and obstructions that in turn can cause drains to backup throughout your home. This entire process is safe, effective, uses no harmful chemicals, and is far faster and more affordable than a sewer line replacement service.
The Hydrojetting Process
Initial Inspection
Every hydrojetting service needs to start with an inspection of your sewer line. Just because you might have an issue that you suspect is sewer-related doesn’t mean that it can be fixed with a jetting service. In order to figure out what exactly is going on in your sewer line, we have to see it with our own eyes, and we do this with a sewer line camera inspection. This involves feeding a specialized camera into your sewer line that feeds real-time pictures back to our plumbers so they can see what is going on for themselves.
This step is important for two reasons: (1) it helps our plumbers determine where your blockage is and if it can be eliminated by a jetting service, and (2) it lets plumbers determine if your sewer line can withstand a jetting service. Old, broken, and brittle sewer lines cannot withstand the high pressure of a jetting service, and thus should probably be replaced outright anyway.
Cleaning Process
Once the inspection is complete and your plumber determines that jetting will work just fine for your sewer line, they begin the jetting process. The jetting tool is essentially a specialized nozzle that is attached to an ultra-strong pressure washer that can propel water through the jet at up to 5,000 PSI. There is a main jet on the front of the nozzle that is used to tear through clogs and blockages while several smaller jets around the side of the nozzle blast debris off of the sides of your sewer line. As the jetting tool is fed forward, it blasts the scum off of your sewer line, cleaning it and leaving as clean as it has been since the day it was installed.
Once the jetting tool encounters the blockage, the main jet tears through it and flushes the pieces away down the line. As the tool is removed from your sewer line, it flushes the waste and collected debris away into the sewer where it can be properly processed.
Completion
Once the process is complete, your plumber will likely conduct a second video inspection in the line to make sure that the blockage is completely removed and that your sewer is flowing freely once again. Once this is complete, your plumber removes the tool, closes up any sewer cleanout ports they might have been using, and the job is done!
Hydrojetting is a remarkably effective service and can restore your sewer line to working condition for several additional years. While this process cannot remove wear and tear or fix issues like cracked or damaged lines, it can solve the majority of your serious sewer issues that are related to clogs and blockages.
Sick of your backed up sewer line causing you trouble? Find out if hydrojetting can solve your problem by calling Service Today at (888) 998-2032! 
