Inspecting Your Own Sewer Line With A Camera? Follow These Tips
Do you have problems with your main sewer line? Do you want to inspect it by using a sewer camera? If so, you're going to need to know the following tips about how to use it.
Be Safe Before You Begin
Before you can get started, it's important to know a few basic tips regarding safety. Make sure that you are wearing safety glasses and gloves to protect your eyes and hands. You should also wear any loose clothing that can get caught in the device that feeds the camera into the sewer. In addition, avoid standing in water when operating the camera. Likewise, do not put the camera in a drain that has recently had a commercial drain cleaner poured into it.
Clean The Sewer Line First
It's important to clean out the sewer line with a sewer snake before you look into the drain with a camera. Not only can this potentially clean any clog, but it will also get rid of any loose debris that is in there. This means you'll get a much clearer picture with the sewer camera. As a result, you will be able to see what is wrong with your sewer line.
Do Not Clear A Clog With The Camera
You may come across something that is in the way as you are feeding the camera into the sewer line. If this happens, do not use the camera to push through the clog, since this can damage it and won't do an effective job at clearing it. Get out the sewer snake again and run it through the line one more time.
Know How To Get The Camera Unstuck
If the camera does get stuck when feeding it through the sewer line, you can try to get it unstuck by using a gentle back and forth motion on the cable. That may be all it takes to get the camera moving again from whatever the camera or the cable was stuck on. Another technique is to gently twist the pushrod that is going into the sewer line since that can also free the camera.
Know How To Locate Problem
When you find something that is in your sewer line, such as a broken section of pipe, you'll need to figure out where it is located. Your sewer camera will come with a device that will help generate a tone when it is above the camera head. You can mark this part on your lawn, and then retrieve the camera by a few more feet. Simply find the camera head and mark the location again. Keep repeating this until you have an outline of where the sewer line is underneath your yard.
For more information, contact a camera sewer line inspection service.