Homeowners call us for all sorts of drain headaches: mystery backups on a sunny day, a washing machine that burps into the shower, or a toilet that behaves until guests arrive. After years in crawlspaces and under streets, I can tell you most drain problems are not random. They have a cause you can see, if you have the right eyes. That is what a camera drain inspection gives you — eyesight inside the pipe. At JB Rooter and Plumbing Inc, we treat camera inspections as both diagnosis and documentation. They guide our work, prove what we found, and help clients budget with confidence.
A camera inspection changes the conversation from “maybe” to “here’s what it is.” In older homes, we use cameras to locate misaligned clay connections. In newer builds, we look for construction debris or a belly the grader left by accident. The camera tells us exactly where the trouble starts and stops, so the fix is proportionate. No carpet of orange paint on your yard because someone guessed where to dig. No replacing 60 feet of pipe when only five feet lost its slope.
Clients also appreciate the record it creates. We save video with timestamps and a distance counter. If your city requires proof for a repair permit, we have it. If you are selling your house and want to show the buyer the sewer’s health, we can provide a copy. And when your HOA is trying to figure out if the main or the unit is responsible, the footage settles it.
It is worth spelling out the kinds of defects the camera reveals and how we read them. The picture quality is excellent, even in murky water, because the head includes bright LEDs. We control the focus from the reel. A seasoned tech can differentiate a smear of grease from a root tendril at a glance. Here are the greatest hits we capture and how they behave over time:
We also spot things that are not defects but still matter. A house trap hidden under a driveway, a tie-in from an ADU, a fernco coupling added during a past repair — details that influence both access and strategy.
People often ask what to expect. The process runs on care and sequence. Our crew follows a consistent playbook, then adapts to the surprises the line reveals.
Access and briefing. We confirm which fixtures misbehave, check cleanouts inside and outside, and identify the main stack or roof vent if needed. If there is a septic tank, we verify tank level and outlet condition first, because a blocked tank outlet will mimic a house-side clog.
Initial cleaning if required. If the line is completely blocked, the camera has nowhere to go. We use a cable machine with the right head or a controlled hydro-jet to establish flow. Cleaning before scoping is not upselling, it is how you get a truthful image. Otherwise you would be filming a wall of sludge.
Camera insertion. We feed the push-rod while watching the monitor. The locator wand on the surface traces the head’s radio frequency so we can mark spots with chalk or flags. When we find a feature, we stop, measure, and make notes — depth, defect type, footage counter reading, and orientation relative to the house.
Decision points. If we see a minor issue, such as light grease near the kitchen tie-in, we might clean it on the same visit with your consent. If we find a severe offset or collapse, we collect all readings and discuss repair options instead of pushing farther and risking a stuck head. The footage becomes your evidence.
Documentation. You receive the video file, a written summary of defects with depths, and a simple diagram. If we performed service, we include before and after snippets. For clients who found us as a trusted plumbing authority near me, that package is often what they needed to make an insurance or permit process painless.
The gear matters. Cheaper cameras without locators save pennies and cost hours. Our rigs include:
Pair the camera with the right cleaning tools, and you can both diagnose and fix many problems in a single day. A jetter with 3 to 8 gallons per minute and an assortment of nozzles takes care of grease and soft roots. For cast iron, a descaling chain mounted on a high-torque cable machine is cleaner and safer than aggressive blades.
Not every service call justifies a camera. If a child’s toy blocked a P-trap and you can see it, we clear it and move on. But in three common cases, a camera is worth every minute:
First, recurring clogs. If you have the same backup every couple of months, the camera will find the cause. You get to decide between strategic maintenance and a lasting repair, rather than paying for the same emergency visit over and over.
Second, real estate transactions. Buyers get peace plumbing installation of mind, sellers avoid last-minute renegotiations. We have scoped homes where a five-foot repair at the sidewalk changed hands fairly because everyone saw the same footage.
Third, pre- and post-repair verification. Before any major fix, a camera defines the scope. After, it verifies the result. Our local trenchless sewer contractors rely on pre-liner footage to size liners correctly and post-liner footage to confirm smooth joints, no wrinkles, and full coverage.
There are edge cases. In a collapsed clay lateral that holds water, the camera might not pass far enough to see the downstream tap. In that case, we mark the collapse and sometimes scope from the city cleanout back toward the house to complete the map. On septic systems with https://storage.googleapis.com/aiinsuranceleads/agentautopilot/plumping/toilet-installation-you-can-count-on-jb-rooter-and-plumbing-inc.html heavy biomat at the leach field, the camera confirms a healthy house line and directs repair dollars where they matter.
A good inspection shines a light on the right fix. We do not prescribe one solution for everything. The pipe material, defect type, and your tolerance for disruption all steer the plan.
Short, accessible breaks in ABS or PVC are often best handled with a small, open trench and new solvent-welded sections. Clay offsets and root intrusions lend themselves to trenchless lining when the host pipe is still round and stable. If offsets are severe, we may re-grade a run to correct slope before lining. Cast iron inside the slab can be descaled to restore diameter, then lined to seal joints and stop corrosion. A belly is trickier. Lining will not fix a low spot, it will only make a smooth low spot. When a belly is long and deep, excavation is the honest answer.
We handle the decision-making with you. Our skilled water line repair specialists, insured leak detection service, and emergency re-piping specialists all collaborate when a situation crosses specialties. A camera inspection might start with a simple drainage complaint and end with a plan that also protects your water service if we see infiltration near both utilities. You get the full picture and a sequence of steps that respects both urgency and budget.
A camera inspection is not just about finding trouble. It can also confirm that your maintenance program is working. Restaurants schedule grease-line jetting every three to six months, then a quick camera pass to validate cleanliness. Homeowners near big trees might plan annual root cutting and jetting in late summer when growth slows. We keep a simple principle: maintenance should be predictable and boring. If your drains are interesting, something is off.
The difference between a clean line and a mostly clean line shows clearly on video. Grease leaves a dull matte finish even when flow seems adequate. Paper might sneak through now, then lodge during a holiday weekend when volume spikes. With a camera, we do not guess. We show you the rating: spotless, acceptable, or starting to build.
For folks who want to reduce callouts, a few habits matter. Toss wipes in the trash, even “flushable” ones. They do not break down fast enough. Keep fats out of the sink. They cool in the pipe and turn into concrete. Install a hair catcher in showers. If you have a basement fixture, a backwater valve can be worth more than its cost the first time the municipal main surges. After installing a valve, we always camera-test the swing and seat because an incorrectly pitched valve traps water and invites odors.
Plumbing does not happen in silos. When we handle a professional toilet installation, we often camera-check the closet bend and lateral if the old toilet had chronic clogs. With experienced garbage disposal replacement calls, a quick scope can reveal a sagging kitchen line that would keep causing backups regardless of the new disposal. Reliable bathroom plumbing experts know that a slow tub drain is occasionally a symptom of a mainline issue downstream, not just hair at the stopper.
Camera inspections also support trusted sewer line maintenance and professional sump pump services. If groundwater enters a lateral through cracks, it loads your sump with unnecessary inflow. The camera finds those cracks. When a sump ejector runs too often, we verify that its discharge tie-in, not the house sewer, is causing an issue. If we find a cross-connection, we correct it and film the corrected routing.
On supply-side work, a camera complements our insured leak detection service. While acoustic and thermal tools find pressurized water leaks, a camera proves whether the drain side is contributing to moisture under a slab. If both systems misbehave, we coordinate certified emergency pipe repair and drain rehabilitation so you do not fix half the problem and leave the other half to ruin the repair.
The difference is not only the tool, it is the judgment behind it. At JB Rooter and Plumbing Inc, we keep a few standards that protect clients:
This approach builds a plumbing company with established trust. When people search for a trusted plumbing authority near me, they usually want someone who will explain the options, stand behind the work, and be reachable the next time they need help.
A bungalow built in the 1940s had backups every 10 to 12 weeks. Snaking always helped, temporarily. We scoped from the front cleanout and hit water at 28 feet. Over the next 12 feet, the camera showed a belly with a depth of about 1.5 inches. The client had three choices: live with regular jetting, replace the low section with corrected slope, or line it and accept the permanent belly with a smoother interior. After we discussed pros and cons, they chose excavation, which took one day and required only a 10-foot trench. The next spring we ran a camera again and saw perfect grade and clean walls. Zero backups since, three years running.
A new home with PVC laterals kept clogging the kitchen line. The builder suspected misuse. Our camera found construction debris: a handful of drywall chunks lodged at a 45-degree fitting. We jetted them out and confirmed a clean run on video. The footage ended the finger-pointing. The builder covered the service, and the homeowner kept the file for their records.
At a small medical office, foul smells came from a mop sink. The trap was fine. The camera showed a misrouted vent that tied into the drain side in a way that allowed siphoning. Fixing the vent and adding a trap primer solved it. Without the camera, that job could have turned into a time sink of guesswork and chemical deodorants.
Most camera inspections on a straightforward residential system take 45 to 90 minutes. If we need to perform initial cleaning to create a path, plan for an extra hour. Prices vary by region and complexity, but the inspection fee often falls well below the cost of a single after-hours backup. When combined with cleaning, we set a bundled rate and apply part of the inspection toward the repair if one is needed.
This is where the value shows: you pay once to know, then you choose your path. If your line is healthy, you gain peace of mind. If it is not, your dollars go into a targeted fix. The video helps with permits, bids, and second opinions. It is evidence, not a sales pitch.
Some municipalities now require a proof-of-condition video for sewer lateral replacements or even for real estate transfers in older neighborhoods. We know local standards, including required file formats, length of coverage, and locator markings. Where utilities run close to sewer laterals, our depth readings help us coordinate with utility locators so that skilled water line repair specialists and our local trenchless sewer contractors can work safely. It is not just about compliance. It is about cutting down surprises that inflate costs mid-project.
Drain problems rarely choose a convenient hour. If you have guests arriving or a business opening in the morning, we mobilize. Our certified emergency pipe repair team and emergency re-piping specialists coordinate with our camera crew so we can stabilize, diagnose, and fix in tight timelines. Clearing a blockage to restore service comes first, then the camera tells us whether we just bought time or solved the root cause. The goal is simple: get you back in service, then stop the same residential plumber problem from returning.
Think of your plumbing like you think of a car. You need brakes, not just a good engine. In a home, drain health sits alongside symptom-free fixtures and safe water supply lines. When we install a new faucet, our licensed faucet installation experts pay attention to the aerator and flow rate so the drain sees realistic volumes. If we replace a toilet, we choose a model with a solid trapway and test it on the line to ensure it clears into the lateral. During professional sump pump services, we confirm that the discharge is isolated from the sanitary sewer to protect capacity and prevent cross-connections that can trigger violations.
All of those decisions benefit from what the camera shows. A clean, properly graded drain line makes the rest of your system more forgiving. A line with choked diameter or a belly exposes every fixture to risk. We prefer to show you the truth on screen and then tailor our work accordingly.
A drain camera is not magic. It is a disciplined tool that, in skilled hands, takes mystery out of messy problems. Over many years and thousands of feet of pipe, it has saved our clients from unnecessary digs, uncovered hidden defects before they became emergencies, and given everyone a shared view of what lies underground. If you are weighing whether to schedule an inspection, consider what is at stake. A clear video and a straightforward report often cost less than one weekend backup, and they steer you toward the right fix, not just the nearest one.
If you need an expert drain inspection company that treats your time, yard, and budget with respect, JB Rooter and Plumbing Inc is ready to help. Whether it is trusted sewer line maintenance, professional toilet installation tied to a drain check, or coordinating with local trenchless sewer contractors for a no-dig repair, we bring careful eyes and steady hands. Your pipes have a story. Let us show it to you, then help you write a better next chapter.