A Loma Linda drain that keeps clogging needs the pipe scoured
If the kitchen sink or the main line has been cleared once already and it is slow again, the clog was probably never the whole story. Grease and roots coat the inside of a pipe and catch whatever comes down next. Hydro jetting sends water through at high pressure to wash that coating off the wall, and we look with a camera first so we know the pipe can take it.
A cable punches through, a jet scrubs the wall
Either one gets the water moving again, but the cable leaves the grease and roots hanging on the pipe, and that is usually why the same drain is slow again a few months later.
Everything else the trucks handle here, slab leaks and water heaters and septic tanks included, is on our Loma Linda service area page.
A cable machine spins a cutting head down the line until it bores through whatever is stopping the water. The drain runs again, and for a simple blockage that is all it takes. What the cable leaves behind is everything stuck to the sides of the pipe, the layer of grease or the fringe of roots that caught the clog in the first place, and with a hole the width of the cutter punched through the middle of it, the next clog already has a head start.
Hydro jetting works on the pipe wall itself. A hose with a nozzle on the end goes into the line, and water at high pressure sprays out backward and to the sides, which scours the coating off the inside of the pipe and pulls the hose forward as it goes. Whatever comes loose gets flushed downstream and out to the sewer.
Signs a line has gone past what a cable can fix:
The same drain has been cleared and then slowed down again within a few months
A tub or toilet gurgles when the washing machine empties
The kitchen line drains fine most days and crawls after a big cleanup of pots and pans
More than one fixture backs up at once, which points at the main line
Any one of those on its own might be nothing much. Two or three together usually mean the pipe needs cleaning end to end.
Grease from the kitchen and roots at the joints
Most of the house lines we jet are plugged by one of two things. The first is kitchen grease. Bacon fat, pan drippings and cooking oil go down the sink warm and runny, then cool in the pipe and stick to the wall a little at a time. Soap and food scraps bind to that film, and over a few years a kitchen line can close down to a fraction of its size without anybody noticing until the evening it quits.
The second is roots. Older sewer laterals were laid in sections, and every joint is a place where a little moisture gets out into the soil. Tree roots find it, push through the gap and spread out inside the pipe in a mat that catches paper and everything else that comes along.
Wipes make both problems worse. Whatever the package says about flushing, a wipe holds together in water, and in a pipe that already has grease on the wall or roots hanging in it, wipes snag and pile up behind each other. A good share of the main lines we open turn out to be packed with them, so the little trash can next to the toilet does more for your drains than anything we carry on the truck.
Jetting takes the grease off completely. With roots it cuts the growth back to the joint and washes it out, which gives the line real time, though a root mat can grow back from a joint that stays open. If the camera shows roots coming in at the same spots visit after visit, we will talk to you about repairing those joints so jetting is not the only answer you ever get.
Camera firstA line cleared twice deserves a look inside
If the same drain has already been opened once and it is slow again, we would rather run a camera down it than clear it a third time. A blockage that keeps coming back nearly always has something physical behind it: a sag where water sits, a joint that has shifted, a root entry, or a buildup that a cable keeps poking through without ever removing.
The camera answers a second question too, which is whether the pipe is sound enough to jet. Pipe in decent shape takes the pressure without any trouble. An old line that is cracked, badly corroded or already broken at a joint is a different story, and blasting water into it can make a bad section worse. When the footage shows that, we tell you so and talk about fixing the damaged piece instead of jetting straight through it.
You are welcome to watch the screen with us. Seeing the grease ring or the roots hanging at a joint makes the decision a lot easier than taking our word for it, and you will know exactly what came out of your line before we pack up.
A drain that keeps clogging has a reason, and the camera finds it.
Where the hose goes in
We jet a main line from outside the house whenever we can, through a cleanout, which is a capped riser that opens straight into the sewer pipe. Going in there keeps the hose and the water out of your bathroom and puts the nozzle right where the main line leaves the house.
Find the way in
We locate the cleanout, or the best fixture opening if the house was built without one.
Run the camera
The camera goes down first to find the trouble and check that the pipe can handle the pressure.
Jet the line
The nozzle works its way down the pipe and back, scouring grease and cutting roots off the wall.
Look again
A second camera pass shows the clean pipe, so you can see the job got all of it.
For a single slow sink or a toilet with something stuck in it, jetting is usually more than the job needs, and plain drain cleaning takes care of it on the spot.
Plenty of houses were built without an outside cleanout, which means every clearing has to go in through a toilet opening or up on the roof through a vent. When that keeps happening, adding a cleanout is worth a conversation.
Once the trench is backfilled and the riser is capped at the surface, the next visit starts out in the yard instead of inside the house. Other jobs from the trucks are in our gallery, and if a line at your place has been acting up, you can describe it for us on the contact page.
More we handle in Loma Linda
- Plumbing Inspections
A look before buying or renting.
- Commercial Repiping
New lines in occupied buildings.
- Grease Trap Cleaning
Interceptors pumped and scraped.
- Office Building Plumbing
Restrooms, risers and tenant suites.
Everything else we cover in town is on the Loma Linda page, and the hydro jetting page covers this work wherever you are in the valley.
What should I know before a line gets jetted?
Not sure your line needs jetting or just a snake? Ask us.
How is hydro jetting different from snaking a drain?
A snake, or cable machine, drills a path through the clog so water can pass again. A jetter sprays water at high pressure against the inside of the pipe and washes off the grease and roots that caused the clog, so the line tends to stay open longer afterward.
Can jetting hurt an old pipe?
It can if the pipe is already cracked, crushed or badly corroded, which is why the camera goes down before the jetter does. Sound pipe handles the pressure fine. If a section looks weak on the screen, we show it to you and talk about repairing that piece first.
Will jetting keep tree roots out for good?
Jetting cuts roots back to the joint and flushes them away, so the line runs full again. The gap they came through is still there, though, so roots can grow back over time. If the camera keeps finding the same entry points, repairing those joints is the longer answer.
What if my house has no outside cleanout?
We can often work through a toilet opening or a roof vent instead, though it is messier and slower going. If your line needs clearing more than once, adding a cleanout outside is worth talking about, because every visit after that starts in the yard.
Why does my kitchen line clog when the bathrooms are fine?
Kitchen drains carry grease, and grease cools and sticks to the pipe wall bit by bit until the opening is a fraction of what it was. Bathroom drains mostly see soap and hair. A kitchen line that keeps slowing down is a good candidate for jetting.
Are flushable wipes safe once the line has been jetted?
No. Wipes do not come apart in water the way toilet paper does, so they snag on any rough joint or root and start a fresh blockage. A clean pipe only gives them a little longer before they pile up again. The trash can is the safe place for them.
Same drain, same clog, again?
Call the shop and tell us which drain it is, how often it has backed up and whether anybody has cleared it before. We will run the camera, show you what is in there and only jet it if the pipe is sound enough to take it.