Camera inspection and drain cleaning

A gurgling drain, a slow-draining toilet, a sewer smell in the basement: before proposing a fix, a camera goes down the drain to show the inside of the pipe, metre by metre, with a distance reading to wherever the problem is.

Cleaning is done with a mechanical auger for a simple clog, or a hydro-jet to strip grease and buildup along the whole length of the drain. A follow-up pass with the camera confirms the pipe is clear end to end.

If the inspection shows a crack, a sag or a misaligned clay joint, the video record becomes the basis for discussing options: trenchless lining, a localized repair, or replacing a section.

A single fixture that clogs once, after a kid flushes something down the toilet, is usually fixed with a hand auger right at that fixture — no camera needed. The signal that should lead to an inspection is different: several fixtures backing up at the same time, a problem that comes right back after a cleaning, or a sewer smell that lingers even when nothing is running. At that point the blockage is almost never in the house's own plumbing — it's in the lateral drain that every fixture shares.

The camera moves down the pipe with a distance counter that pins the problem down to within a foot of the entry point. The image also shows things an auger can't tell you: a transition from old clay pipe to a redone PVC section, a bellied stretch that holds standing water between rains, or offset joints letting soil in along with the roots.

Preventive cleaning on a regular schedule makes sense for a lot with mature trees near the drain, or an older duplex whose kitchen has been draining grease into the same line for decades. It makes a lot less sense for a newer PVC drain with no trees nearby and no history of blockage — paying for an inspection 'just to check' every year with no reason behind it costs more over ten years than waiting for a real first sign.

Price mostly comes down to the length of the run to the municipal connection, which cleaning method the job needs — an auger handles a one-off clog, hydro-jetting is needed for grease or heavy buildup — and access: an existing cleanout near the foundation is far cheaper to work through than pulling a fixture or running the camera through the roof vent. A follow-up pass after cleaning, to confirm the line is actually clear, is usually added to the base price.

The video record becomes useful if the cause of the blockage is disputed — for instance to establish whether the problem sits on the private side of the property or further out in the municipal network, a distinction that often decides who's on the hook for the cost. Keep the report and recording handed over after the job; an insurer or a borough commonly asks for them before ruling on a claim or a municipal intervention.

In a duplex or triplex, it's not unusual for two units to share the same lateral drain all the way to the street. A blockage then hits both units at once, even if only one owner made the call — worth checking before the job starts, both to give the neighbour a heads-up and to split fairly the cost of a repair that benefits both sides.

The report handed over after the inspection includes the full recording, screenshots of the points of interest with their distance marked, and a plain recommendation: nothing to do, regular cleaning is enough, or a repair to plan for. That document, not a verbal diagnosis, is what serves as the reference if the situation comes back up two or three years later.