Hydro Jetting in Cartersville, GA

Hydro jetting clears a sewer line by feeding a hose and nozzle through it and blasting the inside of the pipe with water at high pressure. What that achieves depends partly on where the line ends. Depending on the property, a house may send its waste to a public sewer main or to a septic tank in the yard, and while the cleaning method stays the same, the questions around it change.

Find out where your line goes

If a sewer charge appears on the water bill, the house is very likely tied into a public main. If not, or if there is a tank lid or riser somewhere in the yard, it probably drains to a septic tank. Paperwork from the purchase, such as a septic permit or an inspection report, can settle the question. The technician will ask, because the answer changes how far the jetter goes and what a backup might mean.

Jetting a line that runs to the public sewer

On a house connected to a city main, the private line runs from the foundation to the point where it joins the public system. Grease, wipes, roots and scale in that private run are what jetting removes. The nozzle is usually sent from a cleanout near the house toward the street, scouring the pipe along the way. A sewer camera inspection before and after shows the condition of the pipe and whether a blockage sits on the private side or farther out.

Jetting a line that runs to a septic tank

With a septic system, the building sewer runs from the house to the tank inlet. Jetting can clear grease and paper from that pipe just as it would from a city connection. What it cannot do is empty a full tank, unblock an outlet baffle or revive a saturated drain field. If every drain is sluggish and the line looks clean on camera, the trouble may be in the septic system itself, and the tank should be checked by a septic company. Cleaning only the house line in that situation would not end the backups.

What jetting will not fix on either kind of line

• A pipe that has collapsed, cracked open or separated at a joint
• A sag where water and solids sit in a low spot
• Roots that grow back through joints left open
• Fragile older pipe that cannot take high pressure

For those conditions, the camera footage becomes the basis for main sewer line repair, and jetting either waits or serves as preparation for the repair.

How the visit goes

Expect questions first: which drains are slow, whether anything has backed up, how old the house is and where the line ends. Then the technician locates a cleanout, runs the camera if the line allows it, picks a nozzle and pressure for the pipe, and jets in passes. A final camera run checks the result. If there is no cleanout, the access options are explained before work begins. Our broader hydro jetting overview has more on the jetter and how it is used.

Cartersville rules at the public sewer

Cleaning a private line leaves the public connection alone, but a repair at that connection brings in the city. Cartersville's code of ordinances calls for a written permit from the superintendent before anyone uncovers or ties into a public sewer, with the connection made under the superintendent's supervision, and plumbing permit applications go to the Cartersville Building Department.

Septic and sewer questions in Cartersville

Can hydro jetting harm a septic system?

Jetting the line from the house to the tank adds water and flushes loosened debris into the tank, which a tank in good working order is generally able to take. Cleaning only the building sewer does not reach the drain field. If the tank is already full or the field is failing, though, the extra water can make a slow system slower, so the tank's condition matters.

Who deals with a blockage in the public sewer main?

A blockage in the public main is normally a matter for the utility that runs the sewer system rather than the property owner. Camera footage helps show whether the problem lies in the private line or beyond it. If it is beyond, the next call is to the utility, and the recording gives them a clear picture of what was found.

Should the septic tank be pumped before the line is jetted?

Not as a rule. If the camera shows a clog in the line itself, jetting addresses it whatever the state of the tank. If the line looks clear but drains still back up, or the tank has not been serviced in years, having a septic company inspect or pump it first can save a cleaning that would not have helped.

Schedule a cleaning or a camera look

Whether your Cartersville house drains to the street or to a tank out back, Alpha Plumbing and Sewer can look at the line and tell you whether jetting fits. Call (404) 409-4448 to set up a visit.