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Edmonton Drain & Sewer Camera Inspection

Problems in your sewer line are nearly impossible to detect before a plumbing emergency without a sewer line camera inspection. 

Plumber with Drain Camera, in Alberta

What is a drain and sewer camera inspection?

A drain or sewer line camera inspection uses a scope to identify if there are clogs or damages to your drain line or sewer pipe. Camera inspections are critically important to identify problems with your sewer line before they become bigger issues. This prevents sewer backups. Finding and fixing small issues before they become big issues saves money.

The main sewer line is the last pipe sewer water and waste travel through before it enters the municipal sewer lines. In Edmonton, sewer lines become buried deep beneath the ground. (If you have a septic tank, the main sewer line is the pipe the sewage travels through to get to the septic tank.) 

What is the difference between a sewer line and drains inside your home?

A drain or sewer line camera inspection uses a scope to identify if there are clogs or damages to your drain line or sewer pipe. Camera inspections are critically important to identify problems with your sewer line before they become bigger issues. This prevents sewer backups. Finding and fixing small issues before they become big issues saves money.

The main sewer line is the last pipe sewer water and waste travel through before it enters the municipal sewer lines. In Edmonton, sewer lines become burried deep beneath the ground. (If you have a septic tank, the main sewer line is the pipe the sewage travels through to get to the septic tank.) 

Edmonton-Sewer-Line-Camera-Inspection-

The main sewer line is larger in diameter than a drain pipe inside your home. If the main sewer line becomes clogged or damaged it impacts the entire home. A clogged main sewer line results in waste returning from the sewer line back to your home! (Disgusting!) 

Edmonton-Clogged-Drain-Pipe-

In contrast, a clog or damage in a drain pipe only impacts the local area, for example, a clogged shower drain. 

Also, a sewer line camera inspection sends a scope through your entire sewer line. A skilled plumbing technician can determine the health of your sewer line.

A drain camera inspection is usually performed when there is a clog or a leak in a drain. The camera inspection helps diagnose the problem. After the issue has been fixed a second camera inspection ensures everything flows smoothly. The pipe needs to be wide enough to scope a drain, so a camera inspection isn’t always necessary or possible.

Who needs a sewer line camera inspection? 

Every homeowner should have a main sewer line inspection, but if your house became built before 1970, you are at greater risk of having sewer line problems.  

Sewer-Line-Problems-Edmonton

Cracks, bellies, leaks, and roots are more likely to be found in an older sewer line. Homes that became built before plastic PVC or ABS sewer pipes were used are more at risk. 

Having a camera inspection regularly can help you spot issues before they turn into emergency situations. In most cases, maintenance and repair will prevent an emergency backup.  

Unfortunately, there is usually no way to know that you have an issue with your main sewer line before it is backing up, without a camera inspection.

Landlords Should Have a Sewer Line Camera Inspection 

As all landlords know, there are a lot of costs associated with tenants, mortgaging, and maintaining a home. An emergency sewer backup is a quick way to lose all your profits. The expense and inconvenience are hard to plan for. In Edmonton, when a sewer backs up the wastewater returns back to the home through the lowest point. Often that is a basement shower or drain. 

Edmonton-Main-Drain-and-Sewer-Blockage

Costs become compounded by adding the cost of clearing the sewer line, cost of repairing the sewer line, the cost to clean the mess, and the cost of damage to the home and the tenant’s property. 

Also, another major cost is the prospect of losing a good tenant after a major sewer backup. Any Landlord knows that it can take time to find a good tenant. Once you find a good tenant a landlord wants to keep them! Guaranteed, a landlord will have a much harder time convincing a tenant to stay after one sewer backup, but certainly after two sewer backups. 

Home Buyers Should Do A Sewer Line Camera Inspection 

Home buyers beware! Sewer pipes in Edmonton become buried deep beneath the ground. Signs of damage and decay are not easily detected without a sewer line camera inspection. 

10 Things Homeowners Wished They Had Know

Cracks, broken joint seals, pipe bellies, and root intrusions are a few of the issues that could become discovered during a sewer line camera inspection. 

Unfortunately, if there are major issues with the sewer line, and you don’t catch them ahead of purchasing the home, you are stuck with the problem. 

Also, a sewer line camera inspection during your home inspection can detect major issues and help provide information for the negotiation of the purchase of your home.

We would highly recommend having a plumbing company inspect the sewer line, rather than a home inspector. A plumbing technician has experience detecting and assessing the sewer line’s health. This small investment can save the purchaser thousands of dollars when negotiating if there is a problem detected.

Why do I need a sewer line camera inspection? 

Damaged Sewer Pipes 

Damaged pipes are hard to detect in Edmonton and Alberta because most of the time they are buried deep underground. Pipe belies, cracked, misaligned, or collapsed pipes become identified in a camera inspection. Small problems become identified before it becomes a big problem.  Consequently, more options and solutions are available when a problem’s identified early on. 

Edmonton-Plumbing-Inspection-

Pipe bellies can become detected in a camera inspection. A pipe belly forms when the ground beneath the pipe does not support the pipe, and the pipe begins to sag. Pipe bellies can trap waste as wastewater moves through the pipe. As the pipe belly collects waste a clog forms. Eventually, a pipe belly will cause a sewer line backup if the pipe doesn’t become cleared or repaired. A camera inspection will detect a pipe belly before a sewer backup occurs.

Edmonton-Sewer-Pipe-Problem--Sewer-Pipe-Belly

Aging Sewer Pipes 

Older homes are more likely to have sewer line problems. Joint seals can break over time, cast iron pipes can rust out, and Orangeburg pipe(or black pipe) can collapse.  

Edmonton-Sewer-Pipe-Plumbing-Problems (1)

In Edmonton, where sewer pipes become buried deep underground, most often there are no indicators that your sewer pipes are in bad shape until there is an emergency. A sewer inspection allows you to get insight that you would not have otherwise. If there is a concern you can make a plan to fix and address the issues before you are stuck with a surprise expense. 

Tree Roots Growing Inside Your Sewer Pipe

A small crack or leak, even the size of a root hair,  can allow roots to grow in the sewer pipe. As roots establish in the main sewer line, they begin to catch watch waste, and over time a blockage forms letting less and less pass through. Eventually, if the main sewer line becomes blocked. Sewer water and waste return back to the home causing a sewer line backup. Yuck! 

The most ideal sewer pipes are plastic ABS or PVC pipes. They are less susceptible to cracks, and deterioration. Having a sewer line inspection will allow you to learn what type of sewer pipe you have and if they are in good shape. Depending on the health and type of the sewer pipes, you can prepare yourself to repair, maintain or service your pipes. Understanding this ahead of time allows you to budget and prepare rather than deal with an emergency plumbing situation. 

How often should I have a sewer line camera inspection? 

After getting the results of the first camera sewer line inspection, schedule a camera sewer line inspection every 1 or 2 years. 

If there is a problem in the sewer line that you are monitoring, you may need to schedule camera inspections more frequently until the problem is fixed. 

For, example if there are roots growing in your sewer line, and you opt to maintain the sewer line by clearing out the roots. In this circumstance, knowing that the roots will grow back may require more frequent camera inspection than in a home where the sewer pipe appears healthy. 

The Gentlemen Pros offers a free annual sewer line camera inspection for clients who purchase a membership. The membership also gives clients priority service and also discounts on some services. 

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