Keeping your drains clean is obviously essential for ensuring you can always use your sinks, showers and other plumbing fixtures. In terms of cleaning any type of drain, hydro jetting is normally going to be the most effective option. In this article, we’ll explain why that is and everything else you need to know about hydro jetting and the benefits it provides.
How Hydro Jetting Works
The simple explanation for hydro jetting is that it’s like using a pressure washer to clean your drain pipes. It’s also considered the most effective method for cleaning and/or unclogging a sewer line as long as the pipe isn’t damaged and remains in decent condition. As with a pressure washer, a hydro-jet machine has an electric pump that greatly increases the pressure of the water flowing through it so that the nozzle sprays a powerful jet of water. The difference is that the nozzle you usually use when hydro jetting doesn’t just spray one jet straight forward out of the end.
Instead, you also have additional jets of water that come out an angle so they spray directly against the insides of the drain pipe. This ensures that the pipe gets fully cleaned while also preventing the jets of water from potentially causing any damage. The only time you’d need to worry about hydro jetting damaging a drain is if the pipe is in poor condition or already cracked, which is why plumbers always recommend having a drain camera inspection performed prior to hydro jetting.
Comparing Hydro Jetting to Other Drain Cleaning Options
One thing to understand when it comes to your home’s drains is that unclogging them and cleaning them isn’t always the same thing. You can hydro jet or otherwise clean a drain in order to unclog it, but drain cleaning is also done as a preventative measure to help prevent issues like clogs and slow drains. In terms of actually cleaning a drain instead of just unclogging it, hydro jetting is really the only effective option. A pipe snake is a good way to clear a clogged drain since its auger can easily break through the clog as it spins. The snake can also pull much of the clog out of the drain when it’s removed, which helps to ensure you don’t just end up with the solid materials getting stuck further down in the pipe and causing it to clog again.
The issue with using a pipe snake is that it can’t really clean all of the scum, fat and other solids that can collect on the inside of drain pipes. That’s why hydro jetting is always the best option since the blast of water spraying out of the hydro-jet nozzle fully scours the insides of a drain pipe so that it gets fully cleaned. It also blasts away all of the bacteria that naturally form and feeds on the fat and scum, which helps to eliminate nasty drain odors.
If you have any French drains or other types of outdoor drains, it’s also essential that you clean them regularly since they often end up getting clogged with leaves, mud and debris. In this case, hydro jetting is also the best choice for ensuring outdoor drains aren’t clogged and water always drains away from your home’s foundation.
Why You Should Avoid Chemical Drain Cleaning Products
When it comes to unclogging or cleaning a drain, the one thing you should never do is pour any chemical drain cleaning product down a drain or toilet. The reason that drain cleaner works so well at eliminating even stubborn clogs is that it relies on corrosive chemicals that eat straight through whatever is causing the clog. The problem is that the chemicals aren’t just corrosive enough to eat through the clog, but they’re also corrosive enough that they can eat through your plumbing and potentially cause major leaks in your home’s drain and sewer system. The biggest culprits in this regard are crystal drain cleaners, which contain lye or other strong alkaline chemicals that get extremely hot when they come into contact with water. This heat makes them extremely effective since it causes fat, soap scum, hair and most everything else to essentially melt, but the chemicals also release so much heat they can cause pipes to warp and become misshapen to the point where they can develop a leak.
While chemical drain cleaners should always be avoided, there are all-natural enzyme treatments that can help to keep your drains cleaner. How they work is by killing the bacteria that naturally grows inside drains. If used every month or so, the treatments can prevent your drains from smelling bad. They also eliminate the bacteria build-up that can start choking off your drains and making them drain more slowly or lead to them clogging up.
Signs You Should Schedule a Professional Drain Cleaning Service
Generally speaking, you only mostly need to have your drains cleaned when issues arise. Nonetheless, scheduling a professional drain cleaning service at least once every few years can help you avoid expensive repairs and issues like clogs and leaks that can make some of your plumbing fixtures unusable.
There are also various signs that can alert you when you have a drain that’s starting to clog or there’s another issue with your home’s main sewer line. One thing to always watch for is if you have a drain that starts flowing more slowly, as this is a sure sign that there is a partial blockage. In that case, the drain may end up becoming clogged to the point it no longer drains at all.
When dealing with a partial blockage, you’ll also typically hear the water making a chugging or gurgling sound as it goes down the drain. The same thing often happens if you have a partially clogged toilet. Another issue that can occur if a toilet starts to get clogged is that the toilet will flush slowly or won’t flush completely, making you have to flush more than once.
It can also be somewhat easy to tell whether the issue is caused by just a single drain or if it signals a problem with your vertical plumbing stack or sewer line. Anytime you experience any of the above issues with more than one plumbing fixture in your home, chances are that the culprit is the plumbing vent and stack or your sewer line. In this case, you should seek immediate help so that you can avoid extremely costly drain and sewer repairs.
For nearly 25 years, 3 Mountains Home Services has been providing reliable plumbing services in Milwaukie, Portland and the surrounding areas. As one of the area’s most experienced plumbing companies, you can count on us for drain cleaning, sewer line repairs and replacement, camera inspections and all of your other plumbing needs. We also specialize in heating, air conditioning and electrical services and are ready to help ensure all of your home’s most important systems function exactly as they should. For more information on the benefits of hydro jetting or to schedule an appointment for drain cleaning or any other service, contact us at 3 Mountains Home Services today.
