Cleaning and maintenance
Cleaning is the most common sewer intervention and the one most likely to be repeated. It is also the one that produces the least information unless somebody deliberately gathers it.
These pages cover what each method attempts, what to ask about reach and access, and what a cleared line does not tell you.
What this page cannot establish
- cleaning restores flow; it does not establish the condition of the line
- nothing here establishes whether your line needs cleaning or how often
- no maintenance interval is recommended, because none can be recommended generally
Cleaning approaches
- Mechanical cleaningUnderstand what routine cleaning involves and what to clarify if it is proposed.
- Root cuttingUnderstand what root cutting involves and what to clarify if it is proposed.
- Hydro jettingUnderstand what hydro jetting involves and what to clarify if it is proposed.
- Limits of cleaningWork out what I actually know now that the drain is running again.
- Drain chemicalsWork out what to do about what I have already poured down the drain.
Maintenance approaches at a glance
Routine cleaning
Clearing the line with mechanical equipment to restore flow.
Restore flow by removing material from inside the line using equipment fed in from an access point.
Cannot establish: the condition of the line; that the underlying situation is resolved; that the problem will not recur; that repair is or is not needed.
Root cutting
Using cutting equipment to clear root material from inside the line.
Remove root material from the inside of the line so that flow is restored through the affected section.
Cannot establish: that the pipe is damaged; where roots entered the line; that roots will not return; that replacement is required.
Hydro jetting
Using high-pressure water to clear material from inside the line.
Clear material from the pipe wall and carry it out of the line using pressurised water delivered through a nozzle.
Cannot establish: the condition of the line; that the pipe is sound; that the result will persist.
What would change the answer
- invoices from any prior cleaning, which usually state method and reach
- the dates, which are what turn several invoices into a pattern
What to do next
It is the point most people stop asking questions, and the point at which the useful ones begin.
Understand what cleaning does not establishIf your situation is different
- This keeps happening: Blockages that keep coming back
- You are being quoted for repair instead: Repair and replacement approaches
Related, and why
- Cleaning first
Whether cleaning preceded an inspection changes what the footage means.