Roots, scale and the debris a snake leaves clinging to the pipe wall
A snake opens a hole through a clog. It does not clean the pipe. Tree roots push into joints and thicken until they catch whatever passes by, scale builds a rough crust inside old cast iron, and stubborn debris packs into the low spots of a line. When a drain slows down again a few weeks after a snake visit, the blockage was never the only problem.
Hydro jetting is what our crews reach for when snaking fails. High-pressure water is driven down the line through a nozzle, cutting through roots, stripping scale and debris off the wall, and flushing what it frees on toward the street. It works on residential lines, commercial lines and outdoor drains, from Wilmington to Woburn and the rest of the service area.
Slow drains, bad odors, gurgling and water backing up are the usual signs. When more than one drain in the building is affected at once, the trouble is usually out in the sewer, and the jet is often the right tool for it.
Camera first, then the water
Jetting starts with looking. A camera goes down the line so the crew can see where the roots come in, how much scale is on the wall, and whether the pipe is sound enough to take the water. The published price line says it plainly: High pressure waterjet, Picote + Video, $1,980.
Then the pipe gets cleaned. One customer wrote that two technicians broke through a clog, jetted the pipe and ran a camera down a 4 inch iron line from the house to the septic tank, and that a second visit with three passes of specialized machines left the iron pipe "like new" instead of dug up.
Jetting is also the prep step before trenchless repair. A liner needs a clean, open pipe wall before the resin goes in, so the water comes first and the lining follows. Both jobs are done by in-house technicians, with no subcontractors, out of the Wilmington shop that has been open since 2007.
A jet is not for every pipe
Water is safe for most pipes, not all of them, and the company says so in writing: "While safe for most pipes, Drains By James is not responsible for the failure of pipes that are already broken, paper-thin due to rust, or improperly installed." That is the reason the camera goes in before the nozzle does.
If the picture shows a pipe that is already failing, the conversation changes. A single hole can be patched with a VERSA patch, and a longer run can be lined. New customers get $500 off any pipe lining repair.
Lines that grow roots or scale again can go on a preventative maintenance contract, and the shop publishes special pricing for maintenance and multiple-drain work. Open 24 hours, 7 days: 781-933-4304.
