The last two months we’ve gone over the most common ways to clean a drain: cable drain-cleaning and hydro-jetting. But what if the tech working on your drain recommends a camera inspection? Is it necessary and worth the extra cost? Here’s our breakdown.
New Building Purchase
There are times when a sewer line needs to be inspected because someone is buying an existing building and they want to be assured that the sewer line is in good condition, properly graded, and without roots or breaks. In those times there is no question that a sewer camera is needed for the inspection to be done and the pipe condition documented.
Recurring Clogs
Unless you can physically see what is causing the clogged drain, if there is a recurring clogging problem I always recommend that the drainpipe be camera inspected and located if it’s underground, so you know where the clog is and how deep it is. If you have a good-quality video of the problem, you can better assess what the costs should be for repairs. It used to be when there was a bad root intrusion or a broken pipe, the customer had to ‘take it on faith’ that there really was a problem and hope that they weren’t being deceived; now it’s just a matter of taking a look.
These days sewer cameras are very common and available and are excellent quality, and if you go to the trouble and expense of having a tech send a sewer camera into a drain, insist on getting a recording (disc or thumb-drive) of your pipe for your records. And after the repairs, be sure that you get a record of what the pipe looks like once things are fixed by the tech sending the sewer camera down when all is done.
The Catch
If there is a clogged drain, and someone works and works on it and cannot get any drainage, then a camera will not be much help. You will be able to tell ‘where’ the camera is in the pipe through the tech’s ‘locator wand,’ but usually if the pipe won’t drain out, the resulting water and debris are so opaque that you can’t ‘see’ anything with the camera. Then, one way or another, you have to wait until the water is out/drained down in the pipe before the cause of the problem can be identified.
The Bottom Line
Even though a well-designed drain system really should ‘never’ clog, they get clogged all the time – so often, in fact that a whole industry has been created to respond to the many clogged drains. Most all of the clogs are mainly due to users. If it’s not a foreign object somebody has stuffed down the toilet or pipe, the ground has shifted or settled and caused problems. And rarely, the design or installation of the pipe was not to code and/or not done well.
But are camera inspections universally necessary? The answer is no. However, recurring clogs in a drain are very annoying and expensive. In certain circumstances it’s a great benefit to the tech, and the customer, to have a tool that can help diagnose these problems and take care of them once and for all.
If you’ve got a plumbing issue, Day & Nite Plumbing & Heating will give you the honest answers and high-quality service you deserve. Contact them today at 425-775-6464 to discuss your concerns and schedule an appointment.
by Bruce Davis, Sr.
Since 1954, Day & Nite Plumbing & Heating, a family owned and operated company, has been meeting the plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning needs of homeowners and businesses in Seattle and the surrounding areas. Whether you have a plumbing emergency, or you need a heating and cooling home comfort system, “Do it Right! Call them anytime “Day or Nite”. Be sure to browse here for in-depth answers to homeowner’s top plumbing and heating questions, or send your own questions directly to the experts.
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