Drain Jetting & High Pressure Drain Cleaning
How high-pressure water clears grease, silt and roots that rods alone can't move.
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In short: Drain jetting sends water at high pressure through a hose and a specialist nozzle that drives itself along the pipe, cutting through blockages and scouring grease, scale, silt and fine roots off the pipe walls. It cleans the full width of the drain, so it suits stubborn and recurring blockages and planned drain cleaning. Pressure is set to suit the pipe.
Rodding a drain is like pushing a stick through a blocked straw: it opens a hole and the water drains, but whatever is stuck to the walls stays put. Jetting washes the straw out. That's the difference, and it's why jetting is the usual answer for drains that keep blocking.
It's also cleaner and quicker on long runs, and needs nothing more than access through a manhole, gully or rodding eye.
How drain jetting works
A jetting unit pumps water at high pressure down a reinforced hose. The nozzle on the end has jets facing backwards, which pull it forward along the pipe, and often a jet facing forwards to break into the blockage. As the hose is drawn back, the rear jets scour the inside of the pipe and push the loosened debris down to the sewer. Different nozzles are used for grease, silt and root cutting.
When jetting is the right choice
- A drain that has blocked more than once, or keeps running slowly after rodding
- Grease build-up in kitchen wastes and commercial drains
- Silt and debris in surface water drains and yard gullies
- Fine root growth through joints, as part of a longer-term fix
- Cleaning a drain before a CCTV survey so the camera can see the pipe
- Planned maintenance on drains with a history of problems
Is jetting safe for older pipes?
Yes, when the pressure and nozzle are matched to the pipe. Older clay and pitch fibre drains need more care than modern plastic, and a pipe that's already cracked or collapsed can be made worse by jetting too hard. Where we have doubts about a drain's condition, we look with a camera first and adjust accordingly.
Jetting and tree roots
Jetting with a root-cutting nozzle can clear fine roots and open a drain again, but roots grow back through the same joint. A lasting fix usually means sealing the joint afterwards with a patch liner. See drain repairs.
How often should drains be jetted?
Most homes never need routine jetting. It's worth it where a drain has a known weak point, like a dip or root ingress, and for commercial kitchens, where fat builds up continuously. We'll suggest a sensible interval based on what we find rather than putting you on a schedule you don't need.
Questions people ask
Is drain jetting messy?
Not usually. The work is done from manholes and gullies, the debris is flushed down the pipe to the sewer, and the surrounding area is cleaned up afterwards.
How long does drain jetting take?
A typical domestic run takes well under an hour once we're set up. Longer runs and heavy grease or root problems take longer.
Does jetting remove the need for a repair?
Not if the pipe is damaged. Jetting clears what's in the pipe; it can't fix a crack or a collapse. That's why we check with a camera where a drain keeps blocking.
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