Van Franey Plumbing utilize a General J-2900 Water Jetter to clean main sewer lines with severe buildup, extending the life and overall functionality of the sewer. The water jetter is essentially a pressure washer on a sewer snake. We send the snake through main sewer lines and it scours the inside walls of the pipes while simultaneously creating a suction that cleans and flushes out the line. We use this machine when necessary and it is included in our service with no additional charge.
Call Van Franey Plumbing high velocity water jetting service at (239) 851-0207 to clear your sewer lines
What hydro jetting does that a cable cannot
A drain cable, the machine most people picture when they think of a clogged sewer, spins a cutting head through the blockage and opens a channel. It works, and for a single hard obstruction like a root ball or a toy it is still the right first tool. What it leaves behind is the layer coating the pipe wall: grease, soap scum, mineral scale, and the soft roots that grew back around the cutter. That layer is why the same line clogs again a few months later.
The water jetter sends water down the line through a nozzle at high pressure. The nozzle has rear-facing jets that pull the hose forward and scour the pipe wall all the way around, and the return flow carries the loosened material back to the cleanout and out of the line. When it is done, the pipe is clean to its full diameter instead of having a hole punched through the middle of the buildup.
Grease, scale, and the Southwest Florida sewer line
Two kinds of buildup dominate here. The first is kitchen grease. Fats and oils go down the disposal warm and liquid, cool in the underground line, and stick. Over years they narrow the pipe until a modest amount of paper stops everything. The second is scale. Our hard water leaves mineral deposits on the inside of drain lines, and on cast iron the rough, rusted wall gives grease and scale something to hold onto. Cabling through either one is temporary. Jetting removes it.
Jetting is also the right tool after a sewer camera shows a bellied section of pipe holding standing water and sludge, or when a line has taken years of flushable wipes that have matted into the wall. It clears the line so the camera can see the pipe itself and tell us whether there is damage underneath.
Maintenance jetting for restaurants, condos, and rentals
Any building where a lot of cooking drains into one line benefits from jetting on a schedule rather than after a backup. Restaurants and commercial kitchens are the obvious case; the grease trap catches most of it, but the line between the kitchen and the trap, and the main after it, still coat over. Condo buildings share drain stacks and horizontal runs between many kitchens, and one unit's backup becomes several units' problem. Seasonal rentals see heavy holiday cooking followed by months of sitting, which lets deposits harden.
For those properties we can set a jetting interval, usually once or twice a year, and pair it with a camera pass so the association or manager has a record of the line's condition. It is far less disruptive than an emergency backup on a holiday weekend with a full building.
When jetting is the wrong tool
High pressure water is hard on a pipe that is already failing. Cast iron drain lines in homes built before the mid 1970s are often thinned by decades of rust, with channels worn along the bottom and sections held together mostly by the scale inside them. Jetting a line like that can turn a slow drain into a hole in the pipe. The same goes for Orangeburg, a tar-paper pipe used in some older installations, and for clay lines with offset joints.
That is why the camera comes first on any older home. If the pipe wall is sound, we jet. If it is not, we will show you what we see and talk about lining or replacing the bad section instead. Pushing a jetter through fragile pipe to get a quick result is not a favor to you.
What to expect on the visit
We locate the cleanout, usually a capped pipe near the house on the side facing the street, or in older homes under a sink or in the garage floor. If there is no cleanout, we can add one, and on a house that has had more than one backup that is worth doing. A camera goes down the line to confirm what we are dealing with and how far down it is. Then the jetter runs, working from the cleanout toward the street and back until the return water runs clear. A second camera pass shows the finished pipe wall, and we can save that video for you.
The jetter rides on the truck for every sewer call, so there is no separate decision to make on the day. A plumber answers 24/7, so if the line is backing up into a tub or a floor drain now, call rather than wait.
Learn more before you call
- Hydro jetting vs. cabling: which drain cleaning does your line need?
- Kitchen grease: where it actually ends up
- Why are several drains backing up at the same time?
- Sewer camera inspection: what the video shows and how to read it
Common questions about water jetting
Is hydro jetting safe for my pipes?
On sound PVC, ABS, and healthy cast iron, yes. On thin, rusted cast iron or Orangeburg it can cause damage, which is why we camera the line first on older homes and skip the jetter when the pipe cannot take it.
How is jetting different from snaking a drain?
A snake, or cable, cuts a hole through the clog. A jetter scrubs the whole inside wall of the pipe with high pressure water and flushes the debris out. Snaking clears a blockage; jetting cleans the line.
How often should a restaurant or condo line be jetted?
It depends on how much cooking drains into the line and what the camera shows. Many commercial kitchens and shared condo lines do well on a yearly or twice-yearly interval. We can set one after the first cleaning shows how fast the line coats over.
Will jetting get rid of roots?
It cuts and flushes out the fine roots that a cable leaves behind, and with a root nozzle it handles heavier growth. It does not fix the joint the roots came through, so a line with recurring roots usually needs a camera look at that joint.