Hydro jetting
Hydro jetting and sewer line cleaning in Minneapolis
A cable punches a hole through a root mass and the drain works again for six months. A jetter cuts the roots off at the pipe wall and flushes them to the main. When the pipe is still sound, that is the difference between managing a sewer line and fixing it.
Cable or jetter?
Cabling (snaking) spins a steel cable with a cutting head through the blockage. It is fast, cheap, and the right first move on a backup. It also leaves most of the root mass on the pipe wall, which is why so many Minneapolis homeowners are on a six-month snaking schedule with a plumber who never mentions the camera.
Hydro jetting pushes water at 3,000–4,000 psi through a nozzle with rear-facing jets that pull the hose down the pipe and scour the wall behind it. It takes roots to the joint, strips grease from a kitchen line, and knocks the scale off old cast iron. On clay in decent shape, one jetting a year keeps roots from ever getting big enough to cause a backup.
Jetting is not the answer when the pipe is broken. Water at that pressure through a collapsed joint just washes soil into the line. That is why we scope first, or at least cable, scope, then jet.
What we jet in Minneapolis
Root-choked clay laterals. The most common main sewer line clog in Minneapolis. Boulevard elms, silver maples and lindens find the mortar joints in a 1920s clay pipe and fill it. Jetting with a root-cutting nozzle clears the run to the main. If the camera shows the joints are otherwise sound, an annual jet is a reasonable long-term plan; if they are open and broken, it is a stopgap before lining.
Grease and soap in kitchen and laundry lines. The 2-inch branch from the kitchen carries grease that cools and sticks in the cold section under the floor. Jetting at lower pressure clears it back to the stack.
Scaled cast iron. Cast iron under the basement floor rusts from the inside, and the rough tuberculated surface catches everything. Descaling with a chain flail or jetter buys time; when the bottom is rusted through, it is replacement.
Before lining. A liner needs a clean pipe wall to bond to. Every lining job starts with a jet.
Commercial lines. Restaurants along Lake Street, Central Avenue and Grand Avenue with grease-heavy lines are on scheduled jetting for a reason.
What it costs
Cabling a main line runs $150–$400. Hydro jetting a residential lateral is $350–$900 depending on length, access and how much root there is. A camera pass afterwards to confirm the pipe is clean and sound adds $150–$250 on the same visit. Ranges, not a quote.
Backups: what to do first
If the floor drain is backing up, stop running water — the washing machine and dishwasher are usually what push it over. Do not pour chemical drain cleaner into a main line; it sits in the trap and burns whoever opens the pipe. Call, and tell us whether the house has a cleanout. We clear it, scope it, and tell you whether it is a repair or a maintenance schedule.
More: tree-root season in Minneapolis and kitchen and laundry clogs that look like a main-line problem.
Other sewer services
Sewer Line Repair
Spot repair of a cracked, offset or root-broken section — in the yard, at the foundation wall or under the boulevard — with a camera before and after.
Sewer Line Repair →Sewer Line Replacement
A new PVC lateral from the basement wall to the city main when the clay or Orangeburg is failing everywhere. 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 small pits instead of a trench across the boulevard, the driveway or the street.
Trenchless Sewer Repair →Sewer Camera Inspection
A recorded video scope from the cleanout to the 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
Is hydro jetting safe for old clay sewer pipes?
On clay that holds its shape, yes — we scope first and use a nozzle and pressure suited to the pipe. On a cracked or collapsed section, no pressure washing is safe, and we will tell you that and quote the repair instead.
How often should a sewer line be cleaned in Minneapolis?
A clay lateral under mature trees that scopes sound: once a year, ideally late summer before root growth peaks. A lined or PVC line: essentially never, unless there is a grease problem. If you are snaking twice a year, the line needs a camera, not a schedule.
Do root-killing chemicals work?
Copper sulfate and foaming herbicides kill the roots they touch and slow regrowth for a season. They do nothing about the open joint the roots came in through, and some are restricted for sewer use. They are a supplement to jetting on a sound pipe, not a fix.
Need sewer line work in Minneapolis?
Call for a free estimate. Mon–Sat 7am–7pm.