Sewer Camera Inspection

When a Sewer Camera Inspection Makes Sense

A camera inspection is the step to take when clogs keep coming back, when you're buying an older home, or when a plumber needs to know why a sewer line failed before deciding how to fix it.

• Recurring clogs
• Sewer backups
• Trees growing near the sewer line
• Buying a home built several decades ago or earlier

How a Sewer Camera Inspection Works

The plumber feeds a waterproof camera through the cleanout and records video as it travels the line. A transmitter in the camera head lets them mark the exact spot and depth of any problem from above ground.

1. Find or open the cleanout.
2. Run the camera through the full length of the line.
3. Locate and mark any problem areas from the surface.
4. Review the video with you and explain your options.

What a Sewer Camera Can Show

• Roots growing through joints or cracks.
• Grease and scale buildup narrowing the pipe.
• A sag (belly) where water and debris collect.
• Offset or separated joints where soil has shifted.
• Cracks, breaks or a collapsed section.
• The pipe material, such as clay, cast iron, Orangeburg or PVC, which affects which repair methods will work.

Each finding points to a different fix, from cleaning to trenchless repair to excavation.

What Affects the Cost of a Sewer Camera Inspection

Inspection cost depends mostly on access and whether the line has to be cleared before the camera can get through.

• Whether there's an accessible cleanout.
• Length of the line.
• Whether the line has to be cleared first so the camera can pass.
• Locating and marking problem spots from the surface.

When an Inspection Is Urgent

• A backup has just been cleared and you need to know whether the pipe is broken.
• Sewage is surfacing in the yard.

Camera Inspections Before Buying an Older Home

A standard home inspection usually doesn't look inside the sewer line. In cities with older housing, such as Philadelphia (median home built in 1949) and Chicago (1953), the sewer lateral may be original clay or cast iron, so a camera inspection before buying can reveal roots or cracks that would be expensive to fix later.

Local plumbing details: Philadelphia, Chicago

Sewer Lines by City

What our city pages say about sewer lines:

• Anchorage, AK: In deep cold, buried water service lines and sewer lines can freeze, cutting off water or backing up drains.
• Apple Valley, CA: On large lots, a full septic tank or a long, rooted sewer line backs up.
• Arvada, CO: Sewer lines under 1950s and 1960s ranches crack and take in roots.
• Elizabeth, NJ: Heavy rain and old laterals push sewage up through floor drains.
• Glen Burnie, MD: Old sewer laterals crack, fill with roots and back up into the lowest drain.
• Schenectady, NY: Old clay laterals crack and clog with roots.
• Newton, MA: Roots from large old trees enter clay laterals.
• Dearborn, MI: Heavy rain overloads combined sewers and pushes water up through floor drains.

Before the Plumber Arrives

• Find the cleanout if you can.
• If you're buying a home, schedule the inspection before your inspection contingency ends.

Other Sewer Line Repair Services

• Trenchless Sewer Repair

Sewer Camera Inspection Questions