The short answer
A first-time clog usually just needs clearing. A clog that keeps coming back needs its cause found, usually with a camera. A drain machine is the standard tool; hydro jetting cleans the pipe wall with high-pressure water and is used when a main-line blockage is too severe for a snake. A damaged or collapsed pipe won't stay clear no matter how it is cleaned.
A drain that clogs once usually just needs clearing. A drain that clears and then blocks again in a week or two needs an answer: what is causing it. Sometimes a standard drain machine (a snake) is the right tool. Sometimes the line needs hydro jetting, which scours the inside of the pipe with high-pressure water. And sometimes the honest answer is that the pipe itself is damaged and no amount of cleaning will keep it clear. A camera inspection is how you tell which one you have.
One slow drain or the whole house?
The first clue is which fixtures are affected.
- One sink, tub or shower is slow. The blockage is usually in that fixture’s own drain line. Clearing it is often all it takes.
- Every drain is slow at the same time. That usually points at the main sewer line.
- Water backs up into a tub or shower when the washing machine or a toilet drains, or a drain gurgles when another fixture is used. Those are also signs of a main-line problem.
If sewage is coming up into a tub, shower or floor drain, stop using water in the house and call. A sewer backing up into your home is one of the situations we treat as an emergency.
Snaking and hydro jetting do different jobs
A drain machine feeds a spinning cable into the line. It is good at breaking through a blockage and pulling out what caused it. One drain-equipment manufacturer, General Pipe Cleaners, puts it this way in sponsored trade content: cable machines are best for cutting roots and retrieving solid objects, while water jetters are best for grease, fine sand and ice. Its suggested sequence is to open the line with a cable machine, then jet to clean the pipe wall. Read the manufacturer’s comparison.
That matches what we see on main lines. We clear most blockages with a sewer machine. When a main-line blockage is too severe for a snake to get through, we bring in the hydro jetter.
In one Punta Gorda home with a severe main sewer blockage, our team decided a hydro jetter was the best course. They came back with it a few hours later, cleared the line at 4,000 PSI, and confirmed the blockage was gone with the sewer camera.
Hydro jetting is a cleaning method. It is not the same as trenchless pipe lining or pipe bursting, which are ways to repair or replace pipe. We don’t offer trenchless work.
When a camera inspection is worth it
If a line has blocked before, or the cause isn’t obvious, we run a camera through it and show you what’s down there. Otherwise you can end up paying to clear the same line every few months without ever learning why.
The camera tells you whether you’re looking at buildup that cleaning can handle, or a problem with the pipe itself. A line collapsed by roots or shifting ground won’t stay clear. We’ll tell you that rather than sell you a repeat visit. If the camera shows the line needs excavation or pipe replacement, that’s quoted separately before any digging starts.
When there’s no easy way into the line
Clearing a main line usually starts at the exterior cleanout, a capped pipe near the house that gives access to the sewer. Some homes don’t have an accessible one.
In one Fort Myers home, sewage was backing up into the shower and there was no outside cleanout, so our plumber pulled a toilet to reach the main line. The blockage was too severe for a sewer snake. The team traced the sewer line through the yard, dug down to it, and installed a new two-way cleanout. Then they hydro jetted the main line from there and tested the plumbing throughout the house. The homeowner now has a cleanout for future service, so a toilet doesn’t have to come up next time.
What you can do between visits
Most of what keeps a line clear happens in the kitchen and bathroom. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection recommends:
- Collecting fats, oil and grease in a container and throwing it in the trash, not down the drain
- Scraping grease and food scraps from dishes into the trash can
- Not flushing items such as diapers and personal care products
Read the Florida DEP fact sheet (PDF).
If you’ve used a chemical drain cleaner recently, tell the technician before work starts. Those cleaners are hard on older pipes, often only open a small hole through a blockage, and change how the line has to be handled safely.
If your home is on septic
We handle the plumbing between the house and the septic tank. Pumping or removing the tank is septic company work, and we’ll tell you if the tank is the problem. See our septic line repair service.
Getting a straight answer
When you call, tell us which fixtures are affected and how often it has happened. One slow drain and a whole house backing up are different problems, and it changes what we bring. You’ll leave with a clear answer: cleared and fine, or cleared with an underlying problem explained, along with what fixing it involves.
Our service call is $59, and it is waived when you go ahead with the repair.
Learn more about our drain and sewer cleaning service, or call (239) 542-0787.
Author: Tropical Plumbing Co.. Qualified review: Nathan Lowmaster, owner, Florida Certified Plumbing Contractor CFC1431517.