Hydro Jetting in Greensboro, NC

What hydro jetting actually does

A plumber feeds a hose with a specialized nozzle into the line through a cleanout. The nozzle shoots water backward and forward at high pressure, pulling the hose along while it cuts through buildup. Because it cleans the whole circumference of the pipe, the line ends up closer to its original diameter than it would after a cable machine passes through.

When it's the better tool

• Kitchen and main lines coated in grease that keeps catching food and wipes
• Fine roots growing in at pipe joints
• A drain that's been snaked more than once in a year
• Commercial kitchens that need lines kept clear on a schedule

For a simple hair clog in a bathroom sink, jetting is more than you need. A cable or a plunger will do.

When jetting is the wrong move

High pressure is hard on pipe that's already failing. If the line is cracked, separated at a joint or badly corroded, jetting can make it worse. That's why many plumbers run a camera first on older lines. About 43% of Greensboro's homes were built before 1980, and drain lines from those decades are worth looking at before they're blasted.

Jetting and the City's sewer backup policy

If your Greensboro home has a sewer backup, call City of Greensboro Water Resources at 336-373-2033 first. That 24-hour line can send a crew to check the public main. If the City finds no water at the cleanout, or no cleanout, the homeowner hires a plumber. In a 2021 letter to local plumbers about its Sanitary Sewer Backup Policy, the City asked them to clear the line all the way to the main with root machines or jet hoses rather than stopping at the cleanout, and then to inspect it with a camera. If you may be filing a claim under that policy, mention it when you're connected so the plumber can document the work.

What affects the cost

Price depends on the length and size of the line, whether there's an accessible cleanout or one has to be found, how heavy the buildup is, and whether a camera inspection is done before or after. Ask whether the camera is included.