# Rookie Jetting Issue



## HSI (Jun 3, 2011)

Had an issue today jetting out a kitchen sink line. Cleaned the line using the jetter and camera. Everything was great so I decided to run the rest of the line to the outside CO in front of the septic system to make sure the grease was flushed. The home owner was quite amazed at how well it was working. He was very impressed right up to the moment he went into his bathroom and found the sunk-in tub drain had blown sewage all over the place. I was impressed at how well it equally distributed sewage throughout his bathroom. 
I was running a one forward three rear standard nozzle at around 3000 psi through my 1/4" hose. What can I do to prevent this from happening again? Before you jet through a house do you walk through and look for anything in particular?


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Sounds like a shioty day to me...

I'd say you went too close to the tub in your travels, not much you can do when you can't see how the pipes run...

I'm kinda glad we don't usually jet small residential branch lines...


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## Cuda (Mar 16, 2009)

All you can do is go super fast past an area like a bathroom etc. And have somebody monitor the drains.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

I had turdlet water dripping off the ceiling tiles and fluorescent lights and a Wallymart Family Bathroom once...

Made a wrong turn.... Oops...

Good thing no one was in there when it erupted...


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## Unclog1776 (Feb 5, 2013)

I take it you were jetting under the house from the O/S C/O when this happened? I always get a little nervous jetting under a home, have flood a few basement floor drains in my day. IMO best way to avoid it is to push by hand with the Jetter water off as far under the home as you can and then let it rip and pull it out as quick as possible. Kind of a pain when you have to make multiple runs to get it clean. At least that way all the water you introduce to the system is down stream of the jet head. Another way is to use an all rear thrust nozzle to get under the home and possibly up a stack or other clean out and then change to a good cleaning nozzle, rarely possible but useful when possible


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## MACPLUMB777 (Jun 18, 2008)

I DID A CITY PLUMBING INSPECTORS HOUSE MAIN AND BLEW ALL OVER HIS BATHROOM 

LUCKY FOR ME I NEVER DID ANY WORK IN THAT CITY


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## JAraiza (May 7, 2012)

I have a question? Was their any signs the septic system full?


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## sierra2000 (Sep 19, 2011)

Is 3000 psi too much pressure for a residential kitchen line? I'm asking out of curiosity not expertise as I've only used my 1500 psi Gorlitz in kitchen lines. Also, could you not camera the line first and mark the bathroom opening on the jetter hose so you'll know to lower the pressure as you pass by it?


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

Before sending a jetter through the house plumbing, I close all pop up stoppers. For showers, fold a towel and place on the drain. For toilets, put a towel over the bowl and close the lid on top of that.


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## HSI (Jun 3, 2011)

JAraiza said:


> I have a question? Was their any signs the septic system full?


The tank was fine


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## HSI (Jun 3, 2011)

Unclog1776 said:


> I take it you were jetting under the house from the O/S C/O when this happened? I always get a little nervous jetting under a home, have flood a few basement floor drains in my day. IMO best way to avoid it is to push by hand with the Jetter water off as far under the home as you can and then let it rip and pull it out as quick as possible. Kind of a pain when you have to make multiple runs to get it clean. At least that way all the water you introduce to the system is down stream of the jet head. Another way is to use an all rear thrust nozzle to get under the home and possibly up a stack or other clean out and then change to a good cleaning nozzle, rarely possible but useful when possible


Started though an outside clean out for the kitchen drain. Ran my camera with the jetter until it tied into the trunk line. After that I ran it down to the septic system. I was more in a flush mode at that point trying to empty the last sixty gallons of water out of the tank


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## HSI (Jun 3, 2011)

gear junkie said:


> Before sending a jetter through the house plumbing, I close all pop up stoppers. For showers, fold a towel and place on the drain. For toilets, put a towel over the bowl and close the lid on top of that.


This is what I will do from now on. If it blows the trap it should minimize the mess


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## Shoot'N'Plumber (Apr 27, 2013)

gear junkie said:


> Before sending a jetter through the house plumbing, I close all pop up stoppers. For showers, fold a towel and place on the drain. For toilets, put a towel over the bowl and close the lid on top of that.


^^^this...gear junkie beat me to it, except I wet the towels and throw them over the drains and that way there is some weight over the drain as well


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

I like Gear Junkie's method with covering all the drains and wetting the towels is also a good idea. I always close the toilet lid and pop-up but will start using wet towels now, too. I guess I have been pretty lucky with not flooding any homes yet while jetting and I use 3K psi or higher all the time. I try to pay attention so I can tell when the jetter hose hits a wye so i know to not try and go much further but that's not always easy. Also, I wouldn't have tried to clean the whole line via the kitchen C/O. Being that you are using a nozzle with 3 reverse jets, when you push past a wye it can shove crap you've cleaned out of the 2" kitchen drain up into a bathroom lateral and possibly cause a clog there. 

My preferred method of jetting kitchen drains is to do it from the downstream side thru the main C/O and run the camera and jetter hose up the line simultaneously. I can usually guide it up to the kitchen line. I use my reverse only nozzle and I can really clean the line thoroughly that way. All that ever happens to the toilet is the water is sucked out. I don't know if that method is even a possibility in your neck of the woods with how the plumbing is run but if so than try it. 

Anytime you are running a jet downstream from an upstream C/O you are taking a chance at flooding a bathroom. Hell, I guess that applies to all repair work. Haha. We always take chances. We just have to minimize the risk of disaster.


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## Unclog1776 (Feb 5, 2013)

I used to do preventive Maint on a local grocery stores grease line every six months until they switched managers and decided to cut that along with other Maint programs. They had a full deli bakery and meat locker. After about 14 months of no jetting they backed up, badly. The line is about 300 feet from deli to grease trap. We tried for hours to make it break free with an auger but no luck. I explained that if we jetted them with the line holding as much as it was they would flood but it would get them open. I smiled watching the manager sweeping up greasy black sludge in his white button up. We jet them every 4 months now 

**** happens... At least it was contained to the shower, hopefully you had some good cleaning stuff on your truck.


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

Inside lines under 4" I always would run my electric jetter. I have an old Viking that does 1200 PSI @ 1.8 GPM and it always made the 2" and 3" lines like new with a few passes. 3000PSI @4+GPM is just two much for the 2" lines. 

I am willing bet a buck that the bathtub, lavatory sink and kitchen sink were all on the same 2" line before connecting to the larger drain.


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

So does anybody else besides me here run the jetter up the line from the main C/O and pull all the build up out that way? The potential of flooding a house when jetting that way is very unlikely but even so you run the camera first so you can look at the condition of the pipes and fittings. With CI this is not always as easy as it is with PVC. 

The other thing I have done when there were too many wyes to contend with going upstream with my jetter was run my camera down the kitchen C/O all the way to the main C/O. When it got to the 4" C/O I grab my camera and tie my jetter hose onto it w/ duct tape or nylon string and pull it all the way back to the kitchen C/O w/ the camera. Sometimes this takes 2 people but its not nesessary. Now my hose is up to the C/O below the kitchen and I can effectively jet out back to the main w/out fear of flooding anything because I am using my reverse only nozzle AND you can watch it all on the camera as its being jetted. 

When jetting from down stream I have occasionally created a blockage because all of the buildup getting caught at a wye or belly downstream of the line being jetted and that could start to flood the lines upstream of the jam. But if you are watching from the main C/O as the water flows down you will see when the flow of water slows down more than normal. 

Then you either pull the hose back to where the jam is to break it up or shut off the jetter before it becomes a disaster. I have not had any issues yet doing it this way and it usually only takes about 30 min of jetting to get the job done.

I would assume that houses with basements this way of jetting isn't possible due to the main C/O being in the basement. Here in Houston with primarily slab houses or pier and beam this system is possible.


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

Best Darn Sewer said:


> So does anybody else besides me here run the jetter up the line from the main C/O and pull all the build up out that way? The potential of flooding a house when jetting that way is very unlikely but even so you run the camera first so you can look at the condition of the pipes and fittings. With CI this is not always as easy as it is with PVC.
> 
> The other thing I have done when there were too many wyes to contend with going upstream with my jetter was run my camera down the kitchen C/O all the way to the main C/O. *When it got to the 4" C/O I grab my camera and tie my jetter hose onto it w/ duct tape or nylon string and pull it all the way back to the kitchen C/O w/ the camera. *Sometimes this takes 2 people but its not nesessary. Now my hose is up to the C/O below the kitchen and I can effectively jet out back to the main w/out fear of flooding anything because I am using my reverse only nozzle AND you can watch it all on the camera as its being jetted.
> 
> ...


How do you this with a wye cleanout?


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

Here most main COs are two way that look like this:









Or they use a santee on its back which you can also go both ways through. Our mains come out usually 2 to 3 feet below ground so its easy to get my long arms down to grab the hose. If there's a wye, which is rare on residential, then typically they put in two facing each other so you can go up and down the line.


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

I forget that north of Houston sewer lines are deeper and wyes have to be used for that reason. Do they not commonly put two in that face each other?


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

Sometimes a double wye is used but not often enough. What size and length hose you use for kitchen lines? I use 50' of 3/16 on my electric jetter...2gpm 1500 psi. What kind of nozzle do you use? I'm partial to the 4r.


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

I usually try and use the 9/16" or whatever the larger diameter red hose is that comes with spartan gas powered cart jetters. As far as nozzles go, I also use the 4r if I am going upstream but I use the 1f-4r if i have to jet it from the 2" outside CO. Most of our kitchen COs are on the outside wall, too. I will try and post a short 20sec video of a typical CI jetting and what comes out as I am jetting. On most homes here built between '60 and '90 the washer and kitchen are on the same wall and their lines inner sect within 10' of the kitchen CO. Nowadays they put the washer upstairs or in the middle of the house.


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

Very cool, would definitely like to watch the video.


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## Unclog1776 (Feb 5, 2013)

We have full basements here, sewers are 8-12 ft deep average. Always put in santee, never have a problem knowing which way I'm going, even when it's full of water.


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

Unclog1776 said:


> We have full basements here, sewers are 8-12 ft deep average. Always put in santee, never have a problem knowing which way I'm going, even when it's full of water.


Dayum! Your a better cable jockey than me. I am good at knowing but I am always nervous when its that deep and full of water. I always take it slow and ask the customer to listen for me on the inside. I have only broken one toilet that way in 12 years. Sometimes it does go the wrong way a couple times before I can get it going right.


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## Unclog1776 (Feb 5, 2013)

I don't know about you sectional guys but with my machine I will sometimes out a slight bend on the cable, drop it to the bottom of the clean out then raise it up out of the water and make sure the bend is facing the correct direction before turning it on.


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

Unclog1776 said:


> We have full basements here, sewers are 8-12 ft deep average. Always put in santee, never have a problem knowing which way I'm going, even when it's full of water.


Same here in Chicago, most sewers are 5ft and more deep and clean outs are san tees on their backs. Never had an issue getting the rod to go the direction I wanted. Making sure the rod is going the right way even in a clean out full of water was the first thing my father taught me.


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## Unclog1776 (Feb 5, 2013)

Learned from the old man as well myself. I am located just a few hours south of you off 55 in McLean county


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

Unclog1776 said:


> I don't know about you sectional guys but with my machine I will sometimes out a slight bend on the cable, drop it to the bottom of the clean out then raise it up out of the water and make sure the bend is facing the correct direction before turning it on.


I do the same but sometimes it just doesn't want to go the right way or I can't tell what direction the sewer line itself is heading in order to guide in that direction. It doesn't happen often but I just wouldn't say I never have a problem getting it to go the right way.


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## dclarke (Dec 22, 2012)

I had a sewer replacement once and the city would do a tap inspection. They said their line was clogged so they bring the BIG jetter truck. Not long after they started we see suds blow out a c/o across the street and then a lady comes running out of her house screaming because her toilet turned into a geyser.


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## Leach713 (Nov 1, 2013)

Lol I had ran my cable throughout the vent 
Pulled toilet to run snake 20min later I heard something in the wall and I run out side 
And found my cable coming out through the vent on the roof


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

gear junkie said:


> Very cool, would definitely like to watch the video.


I posted a new thread in drain cleaning of a before and during jetting but since you asked to see the CI short one, here it is. Let me know if it doesn't work. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJHadfqbqdg

It took about 45 minutes of jetting and another hour of cleaning all the sludge off of his driveway with my pressure washer wand. I ran the camera afterwards and the line was fully open and flowing well but I didn't record it. I am sure you have seen enough videos of CI to guess as to how it looked afterwards. Getting all the scale that breaks off during jetting to go down the line can be tedious but, like you, I use the hose without the nozzle blasting down the line to flush it all while the camera is in there to make sure it goes all the way.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Unclog1776 said:


> We have full basements here, sewers are 8-12 ft deep average. Always put in santee, never have a problem knowing which way I'm going, even when it's full of water.


Pretty much the same deal here...
The old tricks of the trade get you going in the right direction...
Cleanouts are usually a sanitee on its back and more often than not buried out in the yard somewhere...

If I install a cleanout usually as part of a spot repair I'll make it a directional one with cleanout plugs at grade level...


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

Try using a 3 gallon bucket or a mortar pan under to catch the overflow. Makes cleanup alot easier.


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

Well, it was a steady flown of that crude oil looking sludge. I don't know if I could have done much to prevent it from getting everywhere.


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## gear junkie (Jun 20, 2008)

Right. What works even better that I forgot to mention is catch it in a mortar pan. When the pan is filled up, pour it into a 30 gal trash can on wheels. When you get done, empty the trash can with a jet pump down the cleanout. This technique works really good with basements as well. The jet pump liquifies everything so putting it back down the drain isn't an issue.


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## Best Darn Sewer (Dec 23, 2012)

gear junkie said:


> Right. What works even better that I forgot to mention is catch it in a mortar pan. When the pan is filled up, pour it into a 30 gal trash can on wheels. When you get done, empty the trash can with a jet pump down the cleanout. This technique works really good with basements as well. The jet pump liquifies everything so putting it back down the drain isn't an issue.


Huh, okay. I will keep that in mind. Thank you.


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