Trenchless methods
Hydro jetting in Boston
High-pressure water cuts roots, grease and scale out of a sewer line far more completely than a cable. It clears the blockage today and prepares the pipe for a liner if one is needed.
Serving Boston · Suffolk County
New England Pipe Restoration, Inc.
CIPP Verified installer. Camera inspection before any quote; permits and inspections handled. More about New England Pipe Restoration →
What hydro jetting does
A hydro jetter pushes water through a hose to a nozzle at pressures of a few thousand pounds per square inch. The nozzle has rear-facing jets that pull the hose up the line and forward-facing jets that cut. As it travels it scours the entire circumference of the pipe: roots are cut off at the wall, grease is emulsified and flushed, scale and sediment are broken loose and carried to the main. Where a cable machine bores a hole through a blockage and leaves the rest, jetting returns the pipe to its original bore. In Boston it is the method for a sewer line that keeps backing up, a kitchen drain that slows every few months, and any line that is about to be lined.
When jetting is the whole answer
If the camera shows a structurally sound pipe that is simply dirty, grease in a restaurant line, sediment in a storm drain, a one-time root mass in a line with otherwise tight joints, jetting solves the problem on its own. The line is cleaned, the camera confirms it, and no repair is needed. That is a legitimate and common outcome, and a contractor who looks at the footage and says so is one to keep. the verified installer for Boston handles that work in Boston and across Suffolk County.
When jetting is step one
Roots come in through open joints, and clay laterals under older Boston homes have a lot of open joints after a century of frost. Jetting removes this year's roots; it cannot close the joints they came through, so the roots return, usually by the following spring. A line that gets jetted every year is a line that should be lined: the liner seals every joint at once, and the problem ends. The jetting still happens, because a liner only bonds to clean pipe, but it happens once, as the first step of the lining job rather than as an annual expense.
Pressure, nozzles and old pipe
Jetting is matched to the pipe. A 4-inch residential lateral, a 6-inch commercial line and a 12-inch storm drain take different hoses, nozzles and pressures, and a camera inspection before jetting shows what the pipe is made of and what shape it is in. Properly set up, a jetter does not damage sound clay, cast iron or PVC. It will expose a pipe that was already broken, because the roots or grease that were holding a cracked section together are gone; that is information the camera then records, not damage the jetter caused.
Commercial and grease lines
Restaurant and food-service drains are the heaviest jetting work in Boston. Grease hardens on the rough wall of a cast iron line and narrows it until the kitchen backs up, usually on a busy night. Jetting with a grease nozzle, sometimes in more than one pass, restores the full bore, and it is scheduled before or after service hours. For a line that needs it every few months, lining is the long-term fix: a smooth liner wall accumulates grease far more slowly and jets clean faster. The methods are explained at the CIPP reference.
What to expect
A camera inspection, the jetting, and a second camera pass to confirm the result and record the condition of the cleaned pipe. If the pipe is sound, that is the job. If it is not, the footage is the basis of a lining or repair proposal, and you decide from the evidence. Verified installers are listed at the installer directory.
Estimates are free. Call now: (877) 627-4401.
Other trenchless services in Boston
Trenchless Sewer Repair Boston
Repair or replace a failed sewer line with little or no excavation.
Sewer Pipe Lining (CIPP) Boston
A resin-saturated liner cured in place forms a new, jointless pipe inside the old one.
Pipe Bursting Boston
A bursting head splits the old pipe while pulling new HDPE pipe in behind it, through two small pits.
Sectional Point Repair Boston
A short liner fixes one bad spot and leaves the rest of a sound line alone.
Sewer Camera Inspection Boston
See what is actually wrong before anyone quotes a fix.
Sewer Line Repair & Replacement Boston
When a line cannot be lined: spot excavation or trenchless replacement, chosen from the footage.
Questions we hear about hydro jetting
Is hydro jetting safe for a hundred-year-old clay pipe?+
Yes, when the pressure and nozzle match the pipe. A camera inspection before jetting shows what the pipe is and what shape it is in, and the operator sets the pressure accordingly. Jetting does not break sound pipe; it does reveal pipe that was already broken, which is a finding, not damage.
How is jetting different from snaking?+
A cable snake punches a hole through a blockage and leaves the rest on the pipe wall. A jetter scours the whole circumference back to bare pipe, cutting roots at the wall and flushing grease and scale out to the main. The line stays clear far longer.
Will jetting stop the roots from coming back?+
It removes the roots that are there. They come back through the same open joints unless those are sealed, which is what lining does. For a line that is jetted every spring, lining usually costs less over a few years than the repeated cleaning.
Can a restaurant line be jetted without closing the kitchen?+
It is scheduled off-hours so the kitchen is not affected. Grease lines need a different nozzle and more passes than a sewer lateral, and the result is a line that stays open much longer than after cabling.
How do I get a price?+
Call or send the form. If a camera inspection is needed first, it is part of the free estimate. Estimates are free; call now.