Hydro jetting
Hydro jetting and sewer line cleaning in Indianapolis
A cable machine punches a hole through a root mass. A jetter takes the whole mass off the pipe wall and flushes it to the main. If the camera shows a pipe that is intact but choked, jetting is the fix, and it is a few hundred dollars rather than a few thousand.
Jetting versus snaking
A drain snake — a cable with a cutting head — is what most plumbers bring to a main sewer line clog. It works by boring through the blockage. On roots it cuts a channel and leaves most of the root mat attached to the pipe wall, which is why the same house calls again in six months. On grease it pushes through and the grease closes back up behind it.
A hydro jetter runs water at 3,000–4,000 psi through a nozzle with rear-facing jets. The jets pull the hose forward and scour the pipe wall in every direction, cutting roots at the joint, shearing grease off the wall, and knocking scale out of old cast iron. What comes off is flushed ahead of the nozzle to the main. Sewer line cleaning Indianapolis homes need on a clay or cast iron lateral is almost always a jetting job; the snake is for a one-off blockage in a good pipe.
What jetting is right for
- Roots at clay joints where the joints are open but the pipe is not broken. Jetting buys one to three years per pass, and it is the prep step before a liner seals the joints permanently.
- Grease in the kitchen branch and the first stretch of the main line. Indianapolis houses with a 1950s cast iron kitchen line are the classic case.
- Cast iron scale — the rust nodules that narrow a 4-inch pipe to 2 inches. A descaling nozzle with chain flails does this; descaling cast iron pipes covers when it is worth doing and when the iron is too thin.
- Sediment and sand after a repair, or in a line that has a belly.
- A pipe about to be lined. Every lining job starts with jetting; the liner needs a clean wall to bond to.
What it is wrong for
Jetting a collapsed pipe washes soil into the void and makes the collapse worse. Jetting Orangeburg that has started to blister can strip the wall. Jetting a pipe with a hole in it pushes water into the yard. That is why we scope first, or at least scope the moment the jetter has opened a path. Hydro jetting Indianapolis contractors sell without a camera is a gamble with your pipe.
What it costs
| Job | Typical Indianapolis price |
|---|---|
| Cable snaking, main line, through a cleanout | $150 – $350 |
| Hydro jetting, residential lateral | $350 – $800 |
| Descaling cast iron, per run | $600 – $1,500 |
| Camera run after cleaning | included with jetting |
| Adding an exterior cleanout | $800 – $2,000 |
Jetting without a cleanout means going through a pulled toilet or a roof vent, which adds time. If you plan on keeping the house and the line, adding a cleanout the first time pays back on the second visit.
How often
A clay lateral with roots on a tree-lined street in Broad Ripple or Irvington: every one to two years until it is lined. A cast iron line that has been descaled: check by camera every three to five years. A sound PVC line in Fishers or Avon: never, unless something goes in that shouldn't. The maintenance schedule post lays it out by pipe material and house age.
Emergency backups
If the lowest drain is backing up now, we bring both the cable machine and the jetter. The cable opens the line fast so you can use the house; the jetter cleans it properly once the water is down; the camera tells you why it happened. If the backup only happens in heavy rain, say so when you call — on the old side of town that is usually the combined sewer surcharging, not your lateral, and no amount of jetting fixes a city main. Sump pumps versus sewer backups sorts out which water is which.
Other sewer services
Sewer Line Repair
A camera-located spot repair of the one or two bad sections — a collapsed clay joint, a root ball, a crushed Orangeburg run — instead of replacing a pipe that is mostly fine.
Sewer Line Repair →Sewer Line Replacement
A new PVC lateral from the foundation wall to the Citizens main when the clay or Orangeburg is failing along its whole length. Open trench, permit, inspection, restoration.
Sewer Line Replacement →Trenchless Sewer Repair
Cured-in-place lining and pipe bursting through the old pipe — one or two pits instead of a trench under the oak, the driveway or the street. $6,000–$20,000.
Trenchless Sewer Repair →Sewer Camera Inspection
A recorded video scope from the cleanout to the Citizens main, with every crack, root and offset located and its depth marked on the lawn. $250–$500, credited to the repair.
Sewer Camera Inspection →Questions we get asked
Will hydro jetting damage old clay pipe?
Not sound clay. Vitrified clay is harder than the roots and scale we are removing, and residential jetting pressures are well below what the pipe can take. Clay that is already cracked or collapsed is a different story, which is why the camera goes in first or immediately after the line is opened.
How long does jetting take?
One to two hours for a typical lateral, plus the camera run. Descaling cast iron takes longer because the nozzle is worked back and forth through each section. You can use the drains again as soon as we are done.
Is jetting a permanent fix for roots?
No. It removes the roots; it does not close the joint they came through. On a lightly rooted line that may mean a pass every couple of years, which is cheap. On a heavily rooted line, lining after the jetting is the permanent version, and we will show you the joints on the video so you can decide.
Need sewer line work in Indianapolis?
Call for a free estimate. Mon–Sat 7am–7pm.