Clogs don’t show up politely on your calendar. They sneak in on a Sunday morning, or just as guests are arriving, or during rain that has your yard looking like a sponge. Picking the wrong fix can turn a small blockage into a bigger, costlier problem. The two most common options you will hear about are snaking and hydro jetting. Both have their place, and both can work wonders when used for the right job. The trick is knowing what your drain is telling you and matching the tool to the symptom, the pipe type, and the history of the line.
I have spent more mornings than I can count glazing my boots in basement sludge, rooting through cast iron, ABS, and clay, and watching, in live camera feed, the ways roots and grease invent new shapes to ruin your day. Here is how I decide whether to send in a snake or call for the hydro jetting service, and what homeowners can do to stretch the time between emergencies.
What a Snake Actually Does
A snake, or drain auger, is a steel cable with a cutting or boring head that rotates through a line. It chews a channel through whatever is blocking the pipe. Think of it like a drill opening a small tunnel through a landslide. It doesn’t remove every last bit of debris, but it restores flow. The standard residential setup ranges from small hand augers for sinks to heavy drum machines with 50 to 100 feet of cable for mainlines.
A good operator feels the difference between paper, grease, and roots through the cable. That tactile feedback matters. You can sense when you’ve hit a coupling or a tight bend, when you’re grinding on an old cast iron rough spot, and when the tip finally breaks through. Done well, snaking is quick and economical, and in the right circumstances it solves the problem within an hour.
Where snaking starts falling short is residue. Paper breaks up and moves on. Grease smears, then re-collects. Roots get shaved, not removed, and grow back thicker. Scale inside old cast iron laughs at a flat-blade cutter and returns as soon as flow cools and solids settle again. If your blockage is recurring, you may be winning skirmishes with a snake while losing the war.
How Hydro Jetting Works
Hydro jetting uses high-pressure water to scour the inside of the pipe. A jetter pushes water at pressures typically in the 1,500 to 4,000 PSI range for residential lines, with flow rates in the 3 to 10 GPM range. The nozzle design matters as much as the pressure. Forward jets cut and break up debris. Rear jets pull the hose through the line and blast material backward toward the cleanout.
When set up correctly, hydro jetting doesn’t just poke a hole. It scrubs the entire circumference of the pipe, stripping grease, paper buildup, roots, and even mineral scale. It leaves the interior much closer to its original diameter. On camera, you can see the difference. Before jetting, the camera lens lenses through a greasy haze, and you slide over stalactites of scale. After jetting, the pipe looks brighter, the bottom channel is clean, and water moves the way it should.
In experienced hands, hydro jetting is surgical. You select the nozzle for the problem. A warthog nozzle to descale cast iron. A rotational nozzle to chew tree roots around a joint. A lower-pressure fan tip for delicate sections. You start downstream and pull material back. You work methodically through laterals if the system allows. The result isn’t only restored flow, it is renewed capacity.
Matching Tool to Problem: Ask What the Pipe Is Telling You
Most homeowners call with one of a few patterns. Each pattern leans toward a different first response.
Slow drains with a recent history of heavy use. After a holiday dinner, for example, kitchen sinks and mainlines slow down. A snake often does the job, because the blockage is mostly food and paper. If the line has not seen regular maintenance, a hydro jetting service is a strong follow-up to remove grease and soap film, but you can start with a snake to restore service quickly.
Recurring mainline backups every few months. This points to roots, heavy scale, or a belly in the line. A snake can open flow for the moment, but you are likely waiting for the next episode. Hydro jetting paired with a camera inspection is the right move, because you need to identify the cause and clean the entire pipe wall. If roots are present, use a root-cutting nozzle, then assess whether the joints need repair or if routine jetting every 12 to 18 months will keep you safe.
Whole-house gurgling and toilets that bubble when the shower runs. That cross-talk indicates a mainline obstruction rather than a single fixture. If the house is newer with PVC throughout, hydro jetting Coquitlam teams use often is safe and efficient, and it will clear wipes and layered paper without leaving residue. In older homes with brittle lines, start with a camera to check integrity, then choose the method.
One fixture, one floor. A single basin or tub backing up suggests a local clog. For short runs, a small snake through the trap arm is often faster and cheaper than rolling out a jetter. If the line is greasy or frequently used, consider a light jet after snaking to polish the buildup.
Exterior drainage issues near the foundation. This is where perimeter drain cleaning comes in. Perimeter drains collect groundwater around your footing to keep basements dry. These lines clog with silt, roots, and fine sediments from landscaping and seasonal storms. Snaking does little more than poke a hole in mud. A hydro jetting company with the right nozzles and filtration setup can flush silt and dislodge roots without pushing debris deeper into the system. If you are searching for perimeter drain cleaning Coquitlam homeowners trust, ask specifically whether they use camera verification and sediment capture, because you don’t want that slurry ending up in your yard or municipal system.
The Material Matters: PVC, Cast Iron, Clay, and Orangeburg
Every pipe material has limits. PVC handles hydro jetting well thanks to smooth walls and resilient joints, but you still need to respect pressure and distance. Cast iron benefits from descaling, yet it can hide thin spots after decades of corrosion. Clay tile cracks at joints and invites roots. Orangeburg, the tar-impregnated fiber pipe used in some mid-century builds, is a paper straw. Jetting Orangeburg is risky, and aggressive snaking can crush it too.
This is where camera inspections earn their cost. A quick look before you commit to high pressure may avoid a bad day. I have jetted lines that looked fine at the cleanout but crumbled six feet later. The camera showed a missing bottom wall, and the plan changed to localized repair rather than brute force cleaning. On the other hand, I have descaled a 60-year-old cast iron main where we recovered a bucket of rust flakes kcplumb.ca hydro jetting and restored almost an inch of diameter. Flow improved from sluggish to smooth, and the homeowner bought years before considering replacement.
If your contractor proposes hydro jetting without eyes on the pipe, ask questions. Sometimes quick action is necessary, like a basement rising with sewage, but even then, a post-clean camera pass should be part of the service.
Time, Cost, and Outcome: What to Expect
Snaking is fast and relatively inexpensive. For a straightforward mainline clog with easy access, you might pay less than a thorough jetting, and you may be back to normal within an hour. The trade-off is longevity. If the blockage is a symptom of buildup, you will be revisiting it. I tell clients to think of snaking as emergency medicine and hydro jetting as rehabilitation and prevention.
Hydro jetting takes more time and preparation. The tech needs a water source, hose management, nozzle selection, and often a filtration system if working at a cleanout that can spill. The result is a cleaner pipe and longer interval between service calls. On commercial kitchens, jetting every 3 to 6 months is common. In residential homes, annual or biennial hydro jetting keeps heavy users out of trouble. In yards with thirsty tree roots, plan for seasonal checkups, especially before winter.
For perimeter drain cleaning service, the intervals depend on soil and landscaping. Newer homes in sandy soils may go years without an issue. Homes in silty or clay soils benefit from scheduled maintenance, particularly if you notice dampness near the foundation after rain. A professional perimeter drain cleaning company should offer camera proof of cleanliness and advise whether your system has cleanouts accessible enough for routine work. Where repeated clogs occur, perimeter drain replacement may be more cost-effective than endless cleaning, especially if sections have collapsed, or if the original installation used corrugated pipe instead of rigid PVC. In the Coquitlam area, perimeter drain replacement Coquitlam projects often coincide with yard renovations to minimize disruption and give you a clean slate.
Safety and Risk: Not All Pressure Is Your Friend
Hydro jetting sounds violent, and it can be if misused. The pressures employed are enough to cut skin and damage delicate fittings. Inside pipes, that energy is your friend when the pipe is intact and the nozzle is matched to the task. In deteriorated lines, you want to dial in lower pressure, keep the nozzle moving, and avoid dwelling at weak joints. A good hydro jetting company will tailor the setup. They will also protect your home with backflow preventers and splash control, and they will contain solids to keep grease and silt out of your space.
Snaking has its own risks. A cable whipping in a tight bathroom can scratch fixtures or break a trap. Forcing a cutter through a brittle clay joint can cause a separation. The most common mistake I see in DIY attempts is running a small hand snake from a sink into the wall and packing the clog tighter. If you are determined to try it yourself, do it gently, and know when to stop and call a pro.
Signs You Need More Than Cleaning
Sometimes a clog is not a clog, it is a symptom of failure. If your camera shows a belly, where water sits because the pipe has sagged, cleaning will be temporary. If roots erupt from every joint in a clay line, they have found a reliable water source and will return. If cast iron flakes like pastry, the bottom of the pipe may be a few seasons away from opening up completely. In these cases, you can use hydro jetting to buy time and restore function, but plan for repair.
Spot repairs with a liner or a short pipe segment often solve localized damage at a fraction of full replacement. Full replacement makes sense when defects span long runs, when the pipe material is known to fail, or when you are already excavating for other work. In wet climates, pairing new piping with proper perimeter drain replacement keeps groundwater where it belongs and reduces the load on your sewer.
The Perimeter Drain Question
Perimeter drains live a different life than sanitary drains. They move groundwater and fine sediments instead of solids and grease. When they clog, basements dampen, sump pumps cycle nonstop, and exterior walls stain. Symptoms are subtle at first: a musty smell, efflorescence on concrete, a small patch of paint bubbling after rain. By the time water finds a path inside, the line may be packed with silt for several meters.
For perimeter drain cleaning, hydro jetting is the standard, but it needs finesse. The water you blast into the line must go somewhere. You need a cleanout, an outlet to a storm connection or sump, and a way to filter the outflow to capture sediment. The nozzle selection leans toward flushing rather than cutting. Root intrusion still happens around joints and at connection points, so a root-cutting pass may be necessary. In established neighborhoods in and around Coquitlam, mature landscaping and older clay or concrete drain tiles often mix silt with root hairs. A careful hydro jetting Coquitlam technician knows the soil and the typical depths and can advise whether you should budget for root pruning around foundation beds as part of the maintenance plan.
If you have had to clean the same perimeter sections more than once in two to three years, ask about camera mapping. Sometimes a single low spot collects sediment, and a small excavation to re-slope or add a cleanout saves years of annoyance. When multiple sections are slightly collapsed, perimeter drain replacement becomes the wiser choice. It is not the kind of project you want twice. Done right, with proper bedding and geotextile wraps, modern PVC systems stay clear and serviceable for decades.
Two Short Checklists You Can Use Before You Call
- Look and listen: note where the backup appears first, whether other fixtures gurgle, and if symptoms change after long showers or laundry. Find your access: locate cleanouts inside and outside. A visible cleanout saves time and money for both snaking and jetting. Gather history: how old is the home and its piping, and when was the last cleaning or camera inspection? Weather context: did the issue follow heavy rain, thaw, or a big cooking event? Rain hints at perimeter drains, cooking hints at grease.
What Good Service Looks Like
Whether you hire a snaking crew or a hydro jetting company, a few cues signal professionalism. They ask about symptoms, not just addresses. They look for a cleanout rather than dragging a cable through a toilet. They protect surfaces and bring containment for dirty outflow. If the clog is stubborn or recurrent, they recommend a camera. If the pipe looks fragile, they explain the risks and options before they start. For perimeter drain cleaning service, they show you where the drain daylight or sump connection is and how they control sediment.
In Coquitlam and similar municipalities, there are also bylaws about what you can discharge where. A reputable hydro jetting service knows these rules and keeps your job compliant. If they are working near a boulevard or shared easement, they will mark utilities and call in locates. None of this should be a surprise to them.
Real Scenarios, Real Choices
A restaurant owner called with a mainline backup at 4 pm on a Friday. Grease had won the day. Snaking might have bought a few hours, but Saturday brunch would have been roulette. We put the hydro jetting rig on the line, set a rotational nozzle, and worked backward from the downstream cleanout. Twenty-five minutes later, we were pulling out grease chunks the size of loaves. We followed with a camera and set them up with quarterly jetting. No drama since.
A bungalow built in the 1950s with cast iron under the slab started backing up every six months. The first crew snaked it and left. The second crew snaked and said replace everything. We scoped it and saw heavy scale and a single offset joint. One careful descaling with a warthog nozzle, low and slow, produced a small mountain of iron flakes. We lined the offset joint and put the home on a two-year camera check. Cost was a fraction of full replacement.
A homeowner in Coquitlam noticed damp spots in the basement after weeks of rain. The perimeter drain had never been serviced. Camera showed silt resting in sections and roots at the corners. We performed perimeter drain cleaning with a flush nozzle, controlled the outflow into a sediment tank, then cut roots where needed. The following fall, no musty smell. Two years later, we did a quick maintenance pass and moved on.
When Hydro Jetting Is the Clear Choice
If you are dealing with heavy grease, layered paper sludge, scaling in cast iron, root mats in clay joints, or perimeter drain silt, hydro jetting is the right call. It cleans fully, not partially. It sets you up for longer intervals between problems. It pairs naturally with a camera inspection so you can make decisions with your eyes, not guesses.
Snaking still earns its keep for quick, direct clogs near a fixture, for budget triage when you need flow right now, and for lines that are too fragile for aggressive jetting. Many days, we do both. We snake to open a starter channel and confirm direction, then we jet to finish the job and wash the pipe back to a healthy state.
How to Keep Your Drains Out of Trouble
Grease belongs in a container, not the sink. Wipes, even so-called flushable ones, go in the bin. In older homes, consider an annual or biennial hydro jetting service to stay ahead of scale and roots. Add a camera inspection every few years to update the map in case something changes. For homes with known root pressure, treat lateral lines with a root inhibitor on a schedule, and budget for jetting after the growth season. For those relying on perimeter drains, keep landscaping roots away from the foundation, maintain cleanouts, and ask your perimeter drain cleaning company to document their work with video and sediment measurements.
If your line has failed multiple times, or you see obvious structural problems on camera, start a conversation about replacement. Perimeter drain replacement can be staged or paired with other yard work. A planned project beats an emergency trench in January.
The Short Answer, Finally
If you need flow restored quickly and the problem seems local and recent, snaking is likely enough. If the issue recurs, if the line is older or coated with grease, if roots are involved, or if your perimeter drain has taken on silt, hydro jetting is the smarter move. In Coquitlam and neighboring areas, you will find teams experienced in both. Ask for proof of cleaning with a camera, respect the material of your pipes, and choose the method that cleans the whole story, not just the latest chapter.
17 Fawcett Rd #115, Coquitlam, BC V3K 6V2 (604) 873-3753 https://www.kcplumb.ca/plumbing/coquitlam
17 Fawcett Rd #115, Coquitlam, BC V3K 6V2 (604) 873-3753 https://www.kcplumb.ca/plumbing/coquitlam