Hydro Jetting in Cranford, NJ

Is hydro jetting safe for old pipes in Cranford?

Often it is, and sometimes it is not. The answer depends on what the pipe is made of and what shape it is in. Cranford has more old houses than most towns around it: 5,915 of 7,306 owned homes, or 81%, were built before 1960, according to the US Census.

Water at jetting pressure is meant to scour. On a sound pipe, that is what you want. On a cracked or collapsing section, it can make a small problem bigger. A clay pipe industry leader warned about exactly this.

"Because they don't know the impact of jetting on different pipes, they damage pipes and don't even realize it."

Kent Carlson, vice president of the National Clay Pipe Institute, in Cleaner magazine. Outside expert, not affiliated with Power Rooter.

A camera maker sums up the cost of skipping the look: "The cost of jetting blind can be measured in dollars, hours and gallons of water." We would add one more cost, the pipe itself.

When a hydro jet is the right tool for residential properties in Cranford, NJ

These are the jobs on a home sewer lateral where a jetter does what a snake cannot.

• Kitchen and laundry lines lined with hardened grease clogs, fat and soap scum.
• Main lines where sludge and sediment have settled in a belly.
• Cast iron with scale and mineral deposits that narrow the pipe.
• Lines where tree root growth has spread along the wall, often mixed with grease. Roots and grease together are a common reason a line keeps clogging.
• Clogs past the 100 to 125 feet a snake can safely reach.

Hair clogs in bathroom drains, or a single clog close to the house, almost never need one. As one plumber on Reddit put it, "Jetting a bathroom sink is insanity. A snake is fine." Businesses are another story: we also jet grease lines and grease traps for restaurants and other businesses, where buildup is a recurring problem.

Hydro jetting cost in Cranford

Our hydro jetting pricing is simple. We charge a set price per job type, which covers up to an hour of work. If the job runs longer, an hourly rate applies to the extra time. The before and after camera inspection is part of the job.

For comparison, a camera inspection on its own is $650 at Power Rooter, or $325 with a maintenance plan. Pipes cleaned by hydro jetting get that footage on both ends of the job.

If the same line backs up within 90 days, we come back and make it right at no extra cost. Coverage depends on the condition of the line, and terms apply.

Clay, cast iron and Orangeburg: what the camera checks before the hydro jet

Old Cranford homes can have any of these three pipes, and some lines mix them. Here is what each one tends to do with age, and what we look for before the jetter goes in.

The middle column follows a New Jersey home inspector, John Martino, who wrote: "Clay is brittle and cracks, cast iron corrodes and flakes apart, and Orangeburg collapses." The standards group ASTM adds that its jetting practice for clay pipe should not be applied to other pipe materials "without evaluating the recommended cleaning procedure from the manufacturer to avoid damage."

If a section is too damaged to take the pressure, we do not jet it. We show you the footage and recommend a different approach.

What a Power Rooter hydro jetting service visit looks like

1. We run the camera through the line and show you what is inside.
2. If jetting fits, we tell you the set price for the job type before we start.
3. We feed the jetting hose into the line and work the nozzle through the trouble spots on the footage, scouring the main sewer line wall to wall.
4. We run the camera again so you can see the clean pipe.
5. Both videos and the notes go into your Rooter Record at customer.powerrooter.com.

Residential sewer lateral hydro jetting, explained

Your sewer lateral is the pipe that carries everything from your house to the town main. On most NJ property it runs under the yard. In Cranford a back-up can start on either side of that connection, which is why the township checks each one.

Main sewer line scouring with a jetter cleans the lateral from the inside. It is a different job from clearing one sink or tub. A drain cleaning and main sewer visit can include both: a snake for the small line, the jetter for the main, and the camera on the main before and after.

If you are looking for hydro jetting because a line keeps clogging, start with the footage. Every hydro jetting job we do starts and ends on camera.

Emergency drain blockage in Cranford

If sewage is backing up right now, call (908) 666-8686. Our vans work Union County every day, and emergency backups are dispatched first.

If the backup might be the town's line

Not every backup starts in your pipe. Cranford's Public Works FAQ says that after a sewer back-up, "DPW will check to see if it is a Township or homeowner responsibility." The footage from our camera shows where the blockage sits, which helps both sides.

If a damaged section near the street has to be dug up, Cranford requires a Road Opening Permit, with a $500 escrow and a bond if the Engineering Department asks. The contractor doing the sewer work applies for it.

Keep a jetted line clean

Grease and roots come back over time. For most homes we recommend a professional cleaning at least once a year, and our PowerProtect plans start at $695 a year with scheduled sewer cleanings. Power Secure, $1,095 a year, also includes a camera inspection. See our maintenance plans.

Not sure what is in your line? Start with a sewer camera inspection in Cranford. Or see all our Cranford services, hydro jetting in Union County, and hydro jetting in Westfield.

Sources

• US Census ACS 2024 5-year, table B25036
• Cleaner, "Take Pipe Material Into Consideration on Waterjetting Jobs" (2020)
• Envirosight, "Get the Picture: Don't Jet Blindly" (2015)
• John Martino, "Should You Get a Sewer Line Inspection Before Buying a Home in NJ?"
• ASTM C1920-23, scope
• r/askaplumber thread
• Township of Cranford, Public Works FAQ
• Township of Cranford, Permits
• Power Rooter maintenance plans