60-minute guarantee · Coupon
Later than 60 minutes from call to door?
Here’s $60 off.
No code to remember: tell your plumber or our dispatcher and $60 comes off the invoice. Good 24/7 on emergency calls in our service areas. Guarantee terms
Open 24/7 · 60-minute guarantee
Camera Drain Inspection
A waterproof camera on a flexible push cable shows what’s really going on inside a drain or sewer line: roots, grease, cracks, sags or a section that has caved in. We record it, mark the spot and depth from the surface, and tell you plainly what it means.
At your location in 60 minutes or you save $60.
The short answer
If the same line keeps backing up, stop paying to clear it blind — have it looked at with a camera. If it’s backed up right now, it has to be cleared first, because a camera can’t see through standing water. We run the camera from a cleanout or the house trap, show you the picture as we go, record it, and mark where and how deep any problem is, so a repair is small and in the right place. You’ll have the price before the camera goes in.
Is this an emergency?
Call now if…
- Sewage is backing up — the line gets cleared first, then inspected
- The ground over the sewer line is sinking or has opened up
- A main that was just cleared is already backing up again
Can usually wait for a scheduled visit
- An inspection before you buy a house
- Checking an old line before a renovation
- A follow-up inspection after a repair or jetting
Not sure? Call anyway — we’ll tell you honestly.
Do this right now
- If drains are backing up, stop running water — the line has to be cleared before a camera can see anything.
- Find the cleanout or house trap — often in the basement or crawlspace near the foundation wall, or outside close to the house — and clear the space around it.
- Jot down when the backups happen — after rain, after laundry, during dinner service — because the pattern helps us read the footage.
Signs you need us
- The same line backs up again weeks or months after it was cleared
- Roots caught on the cable the last time the line was cleared
- A sewer smell in the basement that nobody can trace
- An older house you’re about to buy, with no record of its sewer line
- A renovation that will add a bathroom or kitchen to an old drain line
- A quote to replace the whole sewer line — and you want to see why
- A finished sewer repair you want to see for yourself
- A buyer, landlord or insurer asking about the line’s condition
How we handle the call
- 01
Clear it first
A line full of water hides everything, so a backed-up line is cleared before the camera goes in.
- 02
Run the camera
From a cleanout, the house trap or a pulled toilet, the camera travels the line while you watch the screen with us.
- 03
Locate from above
A transmitter in the camera head can be picked up from the surface, so we mark the exact spot and depth of the problem on the floor, yard or sidewalk.
- 04
Explain what it means
Roots, a sag, an offset joint and a break each have a different fix. We tell you which you have, and what’s urgent and what isn’t.
- 05
Footage for your records
You get the recording and our notes, ready to share with a buyer, landlord, board or insurer.
Know your building
Camera inspections in houses, rowhouses and apartment buildings
In a detached house with a basement or crawlspace, the sewer usually leaves through the foundation wall and runs under the yard or driveway toward the street; in older rowhouses it often passes through a house trap and goes straight under the sidewalk. Either way, most of the trouble happens where nobody can see it — under the slab, the yard, the sidewalk or the street. Old clay pipe was laid in short lengths with a joint every few feet, and every joint is a place for roots to get in or the pipe to shift; old cast iron rusts and scales from the inside. A camera shows which of these you have and exactly where, before anyone talks about breaking concrete.
Buying an older house or rowhouse? A standard home inspection usually doesn’t look inside the sewer line, and a broken one is an expensive surprise after closing. Who is responsible for that line varies, but it’s often the owner, all the way to the public sewer — your sewer utility can tell you. A recorded inspection before you buy shows its condition while it can still shape your decision. In apartment buildings, co-ops and condos, landlords, managing agents and boards use the same footage to plan work and to show an insurer exactly what was found.
One visit, whole job
Everything covered on the call
- Building sewer inspection out toward the street
- Kitchen, bathroom and branch drain lines
- Stacks in multi-story buildings
- Roots, grease, cracks, sags and offset joints identified
- Problem spot and depth marked from the surface
- Recorded footage you keep
- Pre-purchase sewer line inspections
- Before-and-after footage for jetting and repairs
- Written notes for owners, buyers, landlords and insurers
Upfront price, every time
What a camera inspection costs
The price depends on how we get into the line and how far it runs. Going in through an open cleanout or the house trap is straightforward; a line that has to be cleared first, or reached by pulling a toilet or going up to a roof vent, takes longer.
If we’re already clearing the line, adding the camera on the same visit usually costs less than a separate trip. On a line that keeps backing up, an inspection can cost less than clearing it again and again, because it shows what will actually stop the backups. Whatever the access, you get the price on site before any work begins.
Honest advice
Inspect the line now, or clear it one more time?
If a line has backed up once — after a holiday, a flushed toy, one heavy night in the kitchen — clearing it is the whole job, and a camera can wait.
If it’s the second or third time in a year, or the cable came back with roots or pieces of pipe, you’re paying to treat the same problem over and over. The camera shows whether it’s grease that scheduled jetting will handle, roots at one joint, or a broken or sagging section that needs repair — so the next money you spend fixes it.
Mistakes that make it worse
- Agreeing to replace a whole sewer line without seeing footage of the problem
- Buying an older house without having the sewer line inspected
- Digging before the problem is located — it’s easy to open the wrong spot
- Losing the recording — the next plumber, buyer or insurer will want to see it
Keep it from happening again
- Have an older line inspected before you buy, renovate or add a bathroom
- Keep the cleanout and house trap where you can reach them, not boxed in behind a finished wall
- If a line has roots or a sag, have it checked again on a schedule instead of waiting for a backup
- Ask for camera footage after any sewer repair, so you can see the finished work
The 60-minute guarantee
The clock starts when our dispatcher confirms your job. If we’re late, $60 comes off your invoice. No forms, no fine-print games. Read the terms
FAQ
Camera Drain Inspection questions
What can a sewer camera actually see?
Roots, grease, scale, cracks, sags where water sits, joints that have shifted or pulled apart, collapsed sections and objects stuck in the line. It also shows what the pipe is made of and where branch lines join.
Can you tell where the problem is from outside?
Yes. A transmitter in the camera head can be picked up from the surface, so we can mark the spot and how deep it is — and any digging is small and in the right place.
Is a sewer inspection worth it before buying a house?
For an older house, yes. A standard home inspection usually doesn’t look inside the sewer line, and the owner is often responsible for it all the way to the public sewer — your sewer utility can tell you where your part ends.
Do I get a copy of the video?
Yes. You get the recording and our notes on what we found and where, so you can share it with a buyer, landlord, board or insurer.
Can you inspect a line that’s backed up?
Not until it’s cleared — the camera can’t see through standing wastewater. We clear the line first, then run the camera.
Do I need a camera inspection every time a drain clogs?
No. A one-off clog just needs clearing. A camera is worth it when the same line keeps backing up, when the cable brings up roots or pieces of pipe, or before you buy or renovate.
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