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A Beginners Guide To Hydro Jetting

Clogged drains and sewage lines are by far one of the most common plumbing issues faced by homeowners and business owners. 

Cooking grease, hair, un-dissolved food particles, tree roots, debris, and more can all result in a gunky clog that can cause water in the drainage to go to places it shouldn’t. 

This can result in expensive repairs, headaches, and a whole lot of inconvenience. However, it doesn’t have to. 

Unblocking or cleaning your sewage lines and drainage systems can be quickly done via a plumbing technique known as hydro jetting.

So, what is hydro jetting, and how does it work? We’ll explain all of that below and also determine why you should opt for hydro jetting over other unclogging methods in different scenarios.

What Is Hydro Jetting? 

Hydro jetting is one of the safest and most effective tools for removing clogs in your drainage system and sewage lines. 

Using a specialized piece of equipment called a hydro jet or a jetter, streams of pressurized water are shot into the clogged piping. 

The streams of high-pressure water help scrub away the years of accumulated gunk build-up on the inside walls of your pipes – making your drainage and sewage lines as clean as they were the day they were installed! 

With the water pressure reaching anywhere from 1,500 to 5,000 psi, it is easily powerful enough to dislodge and flush out any gunk or debris causing blockages and effectively clean the entirety of your drainage system, making it as good as new.

The water pressure using a hydro jet can be so immense that it can even dislodge large debris, such as tree roots and congealed baby wipes out of the way. 

How Does Hydro Jetting Work? 

Before a hydro jet can be used to unblock a potential clog, a plumber will first inspect the drainage system by snaking a small camera down the length of the pipe. 

This will show them exactly where the blockage is and what is causing it. 

The camera will also reveal if the pipes are in good shape and not broken or collapsed and that the configuration of the pipes will not cause the sewage or drainage water to backflush into the clean water supply.

If the blockage is severe and cannot be treated by other methods such as a plumbing snake or chemical-based cleaners, a plumber will recommend hydro jetting as a solution. 

As mentioned earlier, hydro jetting uses a specialized piece of equipment known as a jetter. 

A jetter comes with a tank of water, a hose, detachable nozzles, and a device that pressurizes the water inside the nozzle allowing the water to shoot out with force when released.

After a thorough inspection and client approval, a plumber will begin the process of hydro by inserting the jetter nozzle into the drainage system, usually via a cleanout opening. 

A plumber will then release the highly pressurized water in the nozzle, which flows down the drainage and sewage lines, flushing out any built-up debris and clearing out any clogs.

Different types of nozzles are also used to deal with different types of blockages. For example, a chisel-like nozzle is often used to blast through tough blockages such as tree roots and hard debris buildup.

Sometimes, a plumber will also use a plumbing snake to first break apart the debris causing the blockage before using a jetter. 

This is to make flushing out the debris more manageable and while it can mean a lot more hard work it will ensure the drainage system is completely flushed out and as good as new.

What Are The Benefits Of Hydro Jetting Over Other Traditional Unclogging Methods?

There are plenty of DIY techniques and products you can find online to help you unclog a drain. 

The majority of these solutions, however, are only effective for small pipes that require unclogging or cleaning. 

For example, chemical-based cleaners or plungers are ideal for cleaning out minor drain issues such as the ones that often occur in your kitchen or bathroom sink. 

They are easy to use and an inexpensive solution to dealing with minor clogs.

For more serious clogs in larger pipes, however, these solutions aren’t as effective. 

Dealing with tougher clogs requires specialized equipment such as using a plumbing snake or a jetter (or both) to break away the hardened debris and get the drainage flowing again.

But hydro jetting provides more benefits than just getting rid of clogs in your drainage or sewage lines.

Compared to other traditional unclogging methods, hydro jetting offers longer-lasting results and a bunch of other benefits such as: 

Environmentally Friendly Cleaning

The use of chemical-based cleaners is quite common but these inexpensive methods aren’t kind to the environment or your piping. 

Strong chemicals can eat away at the walls of your pipes and if there are any leaks or cracks (no matter how small) these hazardous chemicals can easily seep into the soil or groundwater.

Hydro jetting on the other hand only uses pressurized water that has no harsh chemicals or enzymes. As you are only using plain water to clear out those nasty clogs, even if leakage does occur, there isn’t any need to worry. 

Restores Pipes to Nearly New Condition

Hydro jetting is by far the most effective way to clean the insides of your drainage and sewage lines. 

The highly pressurized water instantly gets rid of any build-up of grease, dirt, silt, soap, and mineral deposits that not only cause blockages but also create a form of sludge around the inside walls of your pipes. 

While a plumbing snake is also effective at unclogging a blockage it doesn’t clean the coat of sludge around pipe walls. As the snake is thinner than the pipe it is only effective at removing gunk around the center of the pipe and not along its sides. 

Snaking also only works on soft blockages and not hard ones, such as those caused by tree roots and debris. 

Only hydro jetting can result in your pipes being truly clean and back to being as good as new, at least from the inside. 

This thorough form of cleaning ensures your drainage or sewer lines drain better and smell better for a lot longer!

Pressure Washing Precision

Just like a pressure washer cleans the dirt and grime off your car like a hot knife through butter, hydro jetting does the same thing for the insides of your drainage and sewer lines.

The stream of pressurized water acts as a laser wiping out any sort of debris, sludge, and other contaminants that come in its way allowing a skilled plumber to tackle a wide variety of drainage issues without having to damage the infrastructure or dig up your lawn.

By adjusting the type of nozzle and the intensity of the water pressure a skilled plumber can clean and remove any type of grime that may be causing a drainage issue on your residential or commercial property.

Cost-Effective Preventive Maintenance

We all know how expensive plumbing services can be. The last thing a homeowner or business owner wants to hear is that their property’s piping needs changing. 

Sometimes, due to age, this is inevitable, but most times the reason why the piping needs to be changed is because clogs and blockages have built up to a point where they have resulted in the piping buckling, cracking, or collapsing altogether.

Having the drainage and sewer lines jetted once every few years can help ensure that your pipes last for a lot longer leading to huge savings.

In What Instances Is Hydro Jetting Most Effective?

Hydro jetting is most effective when it is used to thoroughly clean and remove hardened blockages in drainage and sewage lines. 

As such, it is most effective for scouring sludge of pipe walls, blasting through grease, hardened oil, and gunk, flushing out stagnant drainage systems, breaking apart tree roots and hardened ice, and clearing out any sediment, sand, and silt build-up. 

In certain situations, however, hydro jetting may be the only viable solution to treating a drainage issue. 

These situations include:

Cleaning The Piping In Older Buildings & Homes

Older homes and buildings can have decades worth of sludge, gunk, and debris build up in their drainage systems. In such a situation, the best way to thoroughly clean the piping without damaging any other infrastructure would be to use hydro jetting. 

Commercial Kitchens & Restaurants

Ask any restaurant owner and they will tell you that one of their main concerns when it comes to maintenance is always related to plumbing. 

With so much grease, fats, oils, and food residue going down the drain every day, sooner rather than later, that waste will build up and eventually cause blockages.

Methods like snaking can’t get rid of all of this buildup, so most restaurant and commercial kitchen owners always prefer hydro jetting to flush out all that organic buildup and ensure no blockages or clogs occur.

Should You Attempt Hydro Jetting On Your Own?

In short, no! Hydro jetting is a procedure that should only be performed by experienced plumbers as it requires a lot of know-how and precision and is more complicated than you would think. 

Before hydro jetting can even be an option, a plumber has to undergo a series of inspections to ensure that the piping isn’t damaged, too old, or leaking. 

Another inspection is also required after hydro jetting is completed to ensure that all of the sludge, grime, and gunk has been completely flushed out.

The intense water pressure that a jetter uses can also be extremely dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced person. As such, you should never attempt hydro jetting on your own and always rely on the experts to do the job right! 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q) How often should hydro jetting be used on your piping?

It is recommended to opt for hydro jetting services once every three to four years to ensure your home or business drainage and sewage lines remain clean and blockage free for many more years to come. 

Q) How do you determine the right jetter GPM or PSI?

The best way to determine how much PSI you would need for the pipe you are looking to clean or unclog is to use the GPM-to-pipe-diameter ratio. The GPM reading of a jetter should be at least twice as much as the diameter of the pipe for the most thorough cleaning possible. So, for example, an 8 GPM jetter would be best for cleaning a 4″ pipe.

Q) Can you convert a pressure washer into a jetter?

Yes, you can. As long as your pressure washer is between 1,500 and 4,400 PSI it can be converted to a jetter using kits available online. 

Partner With All Service Plumbers For Exceptional Same Day Hydro Jetting Services!

Looking for a trusted and reliable plumbing company that specializes in residential, commercial, and industrial hydro jetting services in and around Los Alamitos, CA? Look no further than All Service Plumbers – SoCal’s Sewer & Drain Experts!

Our high-pressure water jetting services will make your sewer and drain lines look good as new without causing any inconvenience or a lot of money. 

Using our coupons you can now avail our same-day hydro jetting services for as low as $299!

Wondering what our service areas are? Here is a list of all the areas we operate in!

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