Hydro Jetting Services

What Is Hydro Jetting?

Hydro jetting uses a specialized nozzle and high-pressure water (typically 3,000–4,000 PSI or more) to scour the inside of your sewer and drain pipes. Unlike mechanical snaking, which punches through blockages, hydro jetting thoroughly cleans the entire pipe wall—removing grease, scale, roots, and debris that accumulate over years of use.

Think of it as power washing for the inside of your pipes. The result is a pipe that's as close to its original diameter as possible, with improved flow and fewer future clogs.

When Is Hydro Jetting the Right Choice?

• Recurring clogs: If you're clearing the same drain every few months, there's buildup that snaking alone can't remove.
• Grease-clogged commercial lines: Restaurants and commercial kitchens accumulate heavy grease that requires jetting to clear.
• Root intrusion: Hydro jetting cuts through roots and flushes them out (though root problems often need additional repair).
• Pre-lining preparation: Before installing a sewer liner, the pipe must be thoroughly cleaned. Hydro jetting is ideal for this.
• Older pipes with buildup: Decades of soap, minerals, and debris narrow your pipe's effective diameter.
• Stubborn blockages: When a snake can't clear the clog completely.

What Hydro Jetting Removes

• Grease and fat buildup
• Mineral scale and hard water deposits
• Tree roots (small to medium intrusions)
• Soap and detergent residue
• Sand, silt, and debris
• Paper and organic matter

How Hydro Jetting Works

1. Camera Inspection First

Before jetting, we typically perform a camera inspection to assess your pipe's condition. This ensures hydro jetting is safe for your pipes (severely damaged or fragile pipes may not be suitable) and helps us understand what we're dealing with.

2. Access the Line

We access your sewer line through a cleanout—a capped pipe that provides direct entry to your sewer system. Most homes have one, often near the house foundation or in the yard.

3. High-Pressure Cleaning

We insert a specialized nozzle attached to a high-pressure hose. The nozzle has jets that spray water forward and backward, propelling itself through the pipe while blasting debris from the walls. The debris is flushed downstream toward the municipal sewer.

4. Post-Cleaning Inspection

After jetting, we can run the camera again to verify the pipe is clean and check for any underlying damage that the buildup may have been hiding.

Hydro Jetting vs. Snaking

Both have their place, but they work differently:

Snaking (mechanical cable): A rotating cable with a cutting head breaks through blockages and pulls debris out. Good for localized clogs and quick fixes. It clears a path but doesn't clean the pipe walls.

Hydro jetting: High-pressure water scours the entire pipe circumference, removing buildup from the walls. More thorough, longer-lasting results, but requires proper access and isn't suitable for severely damaged pipes.

For one-time clogs, snaking is often sufficient. For recurring problems, heavy buildup, or commercial applications, hydro jetting delivers better results.

Is Hydro Jetting Safe for My Pipes?

In most cases, yes. Modern PVC, cast iron, and clay pipes in reasonable condition can handle hydro jetting without issue. However, we always inspect first because:

• Severely corroded or fragile pipes could be damaged by high pressure
• Collapsed sections need repair, not cleaning
• Certain older pipe materials require adjusted pressure settings

We adjust pressure and nozzle selection based on your pipe's material and condition to ensure safe, effective cleaning.