What is drain Hydro Jetting, how does it work and when should it be done?
First, let me introduce you to the delivery vehicle for our latest piece of equipment…The Shetter!
Hydro jetting is exactly what it sounds like.
High-pressure water blasting through your drain line to clear out everything in its path. This is a bit stronger than your local hardware store pressure washer. Plus it takes a bit of experience and expertise to make sure damage is avoided to any thing that is “the path.”
Our “Shetter” can cut through:
- Grease
- Sludge and small items
- Minor Tree roots
- Decades of accumulation in a main line
Both residential and commercial drains can benefit from the cleansing nature of a good jetting.
What’s needed to even start?
First off, we really need a properly sized outside cleanout to effectively clean with a jetter.
What is a cleanout?
Well, if you look about your home or business, there should be a pipe with a cap on it that goes directly into the main line. These are usually within 18″ of the foundation and typically are white with a cap that has a square on it.
Once you find the cleanout, jetting becomes the most efficient way to restore a drain to flowing like a Class IV whitewater river in West Virginia. We have to jet from a cleanout in order to avoid any damage to the small lines in the system. If an inside cleanout is available, we can use that. We just have to be vigilant as we work to ensure the appropriate amount of water is flowing to clear a clog without issues. If a cleanout is missing, we can install one but that’s for a later date.
Snaking a line can clear a clog temporarily. After the line is open, we can camera it and see exactly what’s happening. This is when L.D. Smith Plumbing and Drains will recommend bringing in “The Shetter” to wash your cares, and everything else in the main line, away.
The first step is to realize there might be a larger amount of sediment, grease or roots than expected after using a cable machine and a camera. Once that spot, or distance, is determined to be the cause of the issue, we can look for the cleanout upstream from the area.
Hopefully, the line is intact with little to no cracks or separations. The water pressure is pretty intense and it takes a very steady hand to fulfill this “Operation.” Any blemishes in the line or separations mean that jetting can cause more damage than already present.
L.D. Smith Plumbing and Drains is at the ready to bring your home or business the options and operators to get any clogged drains open and then the equipment and expertise to keep them flowing for years to come. Unless of course an entire pan of bacon grease or a matchbox car makes it way into the main.
Keep flushing America!
– Lance Smith, Owner and The Man that Skis the White River Barefoot
L.D. Smith Plumbing and Drains