Common Problems Spotted With Camera Inspections

If you need work done on your home’s plumbing system, then you’ll probably find that many local plumbers advertise video camera inspection. Video camera inspections are a relatively new plumbing technique that are growing in popularity because they’re non-invasive yet highly effective. Here’s how it works: The plumber inserts a special camera, mounted on a long, flexible rod, into the pipes. Unless you live very far from the road, this rod is long enough to go all the way to the municipal sewer line, which means it can literally inspect every inch of every pipe in your plumbing system. Once the camera is inserted, high-resolution video is transmitted back in real time to the plumber, who can see the interior of the pipes on a handheld screen. This allows him or her to see any problems the camera picks up. Because the camera also transmits the exact location and depth of its location, there’s never any guesswork as to the location of any issues.

What Problems Can Only Be Spotted With Camera Inspections?

• Blockages: Blockages due to waste buildup in your pipes can cause a whole host of problems, from sewer backups to broken pipes and water damage.
• Roots: Did you know that the roots of trees and shrubs can wreak havoc on your pipes? The roots will go to where they can find nutrients, which in this case is in the organic waste in your sewer system. They make their way into joins, cracks, and other vulnerabilities, where they continue to grow and often cause serious blockages and pipe damage.
• Wear and tear: Especially if you live in an older home and your plumbing system hasn’t been upgraded in over 30 years, the pipes could be starting to corrode, crack, or break. At the same time, burrowing animals, construction work, and even natural disasters like floods, landslides, and earthquakes can place undue stress on the system and damage it—even if it’s relatively new. And of course, if you’ve had frozen pipes, there may be cracks and breaks due to the pipes expanding.
• Misaligned joins: Ideally, when your plumbing system is installed, it’s done perfectly. Unfortunately, there can be instances where a join isn’t properly aligned, resulting in a leak. Misalignment can also occur due to frozen pipes, as well as ground shifts due to construction or natural disasters.

If you need any more convincing about the benefits of video camera inspection, just consider that before this technology was developed, the only way to accurately diagnose these types of problems was by laying the pipes bare. Depending on where they were located in a home, that could involve ripping up floors, drilling through a cement foundation, or trenching in the yard or driveway. And if you take a moment to consider the costs and inconvenience associated with these techniques, it’s obvious that video camera inspections offer a much faster, more affordable, and more convenient solution.