Snaking & Hydro-Jetting

Hydro-jetting is a process where a high-pressure water system flushes and cleans your pipes with water. Flooding the lines pushes clogs through the pipes and ensures that your pipes are cleared of debris and other obstructions. It removes grease, sand, debris, and other objects that are difficult for normal flows of water to push through the pipes. 

Hydro-jetting isn’t quite the same as a power washer, so homeowners should be wary of just hooking up any power water to their drains to attempt the same process as a professional plumber. With the wrong pressure or nozzles, you can damage your pipe system. Hydro-jetting is often necessary when traditional drain-clearing methods, such as snaking, fail. 

Anderson Plumbing, Heating & Air offers traditional drain snaking and hydro-jetting services in San Diego and surrounding areas. We have the training, tools, and expertise to provide long-lasting drain-cleaning solutions so your drains work the way they should.

Hydro-Jetting vs. Snaking: Which Is Better?

The two main methods for cleaning and clearing drains are hydro-jetting and snaking. Both of these methods have advantages and disadvantages, and each can be a great solution to particular problems.

What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Drain Snaking?

Drain snaking involves pushing an auger into the drain from a sink, tub, toilet, or cleanout access point until it reaches the clog. Then, a crank is used to dislodge the blockage. The auger can either push the clog and break it up with its twisting action, or it can get attached to the clog so it can be brought up and pulled out. 

The main advantage of using a plumber’s snake is that it’s quick and easy to set up. If the blockage is near an access point, it can make short work of a clog.

The disadvantage of drain snaking is that it doesn’t necessarily clear the entire blockage. It may leave parts of it behind and stuck on the pipe, ready to latch onto more waste and leading to another blockage. This can create a cycle of snaking and blocking.

What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Hydro-Jetting?

Hydro-jetting is a new process where a pressure washer of up to 3500 PSI is used to clean out buildup and remove debris from the walls of your pipes, including roots and grease. This method floods the pipes and clears all the inner walls. 

Hydro-jetting advantages include:

• Entire Pipe is Cleaned: It removes grease, fats, debris, and even roots entirely from your pipes.
• Environmentally Safe: It doesn’t use any cleaning chemicals to clean your pipes. Any water washed down the drain is just as safe as any other water. 
• Hygienic: Plumbing snakes come into contact with sewage, which can accidentally contaminate surfaces in your home. Our plumbers are careful with this, but hydro-jetting is inherently cleaner. 
• Longer-Lasting Results: Because the pipe is fully cleaned and no residue is left behind, hydro-jetted pipes stay clean much longer than with traditional snaking methods.
• Non-Invasive: Plumbers don’t have to dig or create access points with hydro-jetting. 

There are a few disadvantages to hydro-jetting. For one, we’ll likely have to do a video camera inspection to ensure your pipes can handle the high pressure. Secondly, it can be a little more expensive than traditional snaking services would be.

For smaller, minor clogs that are close to an access point, snaking can do the job. However, if it’s a major clog that’s further down the pipe, or you want to be certain your pipe is fully clean and clear, hydro-jetting is the best solution.

At Anderson, we offer both professional drain snaking and hydro-jetting services to San Diego residents.

Cutting Edge Drain Camera Inspections

We will perform a complete camera inspection if drain snaking and hydro-jetting are ineffective. This allows us to see exactly what the problem is. It could be that a pipe has broken and is spilling into the yard. Or there could be a toy or object firmly lodged in the pipe. The camera inspection will let us know exactly what we’re dealing with. Armed with the right knowledge, we’ll be able to address the issue more effectively.