Why Do I Need A Sewer Camera Inspection?
A sewer camera inspection is our most requested add on inspection when our clients schedule a general home inspection. The sewer lateral drain pipe underground between your home and the city street is a major system of your home that can be easily overlooked. The sewer camera inspection is not part of the general home inspection so this add on inspection is highly recommended for single family, multifamily homes and some townhomes. We are sewer inspectors only, we do not perform repairs or replacement services. You can take comfort in knowing we will give you a non-bias opinion of the sewer line condition and send you a comprehensive report and sewer video.
The sewer lateral main line is buried under ground between your home or business, so unless you have X-ray vision you cannot tell the condition or what type of pipe material is under ground. We do not have X-ray vision however we do have full color cameras that we send into your sewer main line pipe to visually inspect and detect breaks or cracks in pipe, vegetation root intrusion, pipe offsets or old obsolete pipe materials that may need upgrading.
The sewer inspection process is not cut and dry and does in many cases come with challenges for the sewer inspector, such as locating the sewer clean out access. Many homes that have a sewer camera access may be buried under soil or blocked by storage or vegetation. If you are purchasing a new home it is highly recommended to have seller clearly point out the location of clean out before we arrive.
Some homes do NOT have accessible sewer line clean-outs. So, if there was a backup the sewerage would likely back up thru toilets and shower/bathtub drains causing an unpleasant mess in your home. Our Inspectors will try to locate your sewer clean-out and show you where it is. Older homes may not have a clean out installed, if this is the case we can advise you were to install one.
(A Sewer Main Line Camera Inspection is outside the scope of a general home inspection and NOT included, it is offered as an additional service for a fee).
What is Hydro-Jetting?
Using 3000-4000 pounds per square inch (psi) of water, hydro-jetting has the power to burst open the toughest blockages and at the same time scours the full diameter of the pipe cutting thru tree roots, scaling and flushing debris from sewer main line.
How do i know if i need Hydro-Jetting?
If your sewer main line inspection has revealed a root intrusion, blockage, grease build-up or old scaled cast iron pipe build-up a hydro jetting service will be recommended right away so the under ground lateral can be cleared and then re-inspected for any costly repairs that may be necessary.
Hydro-jetting is a drain cleaning service that uses high pressured water to clean debris and buildup out of waste/sewer pipes under ground between structure foundation and city connection in street. It is really effective for tough clogs or buildup around the home, sewer lines, or in commercial applications such as restaurant floor drains. Once a blockage or root intrusion is cleared with hydro-jetting service we recommend re-inspecting the sewer main line to determine if any damage may have been concealed by the roots or blockage that was cleared.
(Home inspection authority does offer Hydro-Jetting cleaning service’s, please contact us for quote and availability).
(A Sewer Main Line Hydro-Jet cleaning service is outside the scope of a general home inspection and NOT included, It is offered as an additional service for a fee)