Plumbing Camera Inspection

How to Know When Your Home Needs a Plumbing Camera Inspection

After anyone flushes a toilet, no one thinks about where the waste goes. It is an “out of sight, out of mind” moment. However, when something restricts the flow of sewer away from the home, it is a wake-up call that causes great distress. Everything else is put on hold and the problem must be addressed immediately.

Sewage poses two types of danger.

• The power of water is intense. It flows in whatever direction offers the least resistance. It is pulled down by gravity. It wicks into anything it can find, including carpet and walls. It softens and erodes soil and rock.
• The power of pollution is just as intense. The combination of human waste, detergent, and food waste is a deadly and nasty concoction. Inside or outside, it is a difficult clean-up job.

It is essential to get to the source of wastewater leaks as soon as possible.

In the past, plumbers used the wastewater leak to track it back to the source. Since water travels quickly, this method can take some time. For outdoor leaks, this can lead to a lot of work, since the water is eroding downhill, and the sewer line is buried several feet deep. A nine-foot trench across the yard is not a welcomed sight to come home to.

In the late nineties, plumbers developed sewer camera technology. Yeah, it sounds gross, but it is extremely helpful when it comes to finding leaks. A Plumbing Camera Inspection camera is attached to a long snake-like cable and inserted into the sewer line. The camera is extended into the damaged portion to find:

• Cracks, which can let water leak in or out
• Blockages

The sewer camera has become a great diagnostic tool; problems can be located, and repairs are planned before digging a hole. They are especially helpful for discovering:

Plumbing Camera Inspection: Intrusive Tree Roots

Tree roots grow down, searching for water and nutrients. If they find a way into a sewer line, what more do they need? A very small root tip will open a hole. Enough roots will eventually grow inside to fill the pipe. No amount of plunging or drain cleaner will remove this blockage.

Multiple Problems

Nothing is more frustrating for both homeowner and contractor than working hard to repair a discovered problem, only to need to revisit the same project for an additional problem The camera allows plumbers to continue investigating to the end of the sewer line.

Structural Bends and Blockages

Another source of sewer trouble is bending pipes or sags in the sewer line. Debris or grease will build up in these trouble areas and create a blockage. Finding the problem without a camera is very difficult.

Collapsed and Broken Sections

An older home may still use clay tile pipe or other fragile material. The sewer line was buried, and no one intends to revisit it except for its replacement. Collapsed sections tend to be a major failure; identifying the extent of the collapse is extremely important.

Sewer repairs are relatively easy . . . once you have located the leak or blockage. Visual inspection with a sewer camera ensures leaks and blockages are discovered, located, and repaired in the most cost-effective manner.

Let Us Answer Your Plumbing Camera Inspection Questions

Let Doctore Cool help with your Plumbing Camera Inspection questions. Call Doctor Cool & Professor Heat today at 281-338-8751 or email Doctor Cool and let our professional Residential Plumbing Contractors assist with all of your Tankless Hot Water Heater Installation questions.