Preemptive hydro jetting necessary?

[Terry Bone]

Our plumber wants to do preemptive hydro jetting. Building was built in 1981 (41yrs old) with most of the larger (horizontal) sewer pipes in the garage already replaced and no current back ups reported in our 20 unit, 3 story building. I'm worried hydro jetting could do more harm than good because of the force on 41 year old pipes. My spidey senses are tingling! Does this advice seem right?

 

[oz-plumber]

What does he want to charge you for the preemptive hydro jetting?

Waste of time jetting clean drains in my opinion.

Might be worth a camera being put down the drain, to see if there are any problems.

Sounds like someone looking to recoup some money on expensive equipment.
Jetters aren't cheap nor are the cameras.

 

[Last Plumber]

I don't see the point?

If a drain is laid correctly, it will remain clear. What brought about the suggestion?

 

[Terry Bone]

oz-plumber: The bid from plumbing Co. is $3800 which includes CCTV, hydro jetting all horizontal sewer pipes and installing 3-3"clean outs (they say these clean outs should be added to system for easy access to potential blockages). The bid does not separate the costs of each individual service. I have spoken with our building's manager and found out it is he who wants to do this preventative hydro jetting apparently to avoid issues he has dealt with in other buildings he manages. Manager states there have been no units with recurring blockages and I asked for him to alert the board immediately if this happens in the future so we might revisit hydro jetting service. I have asked that plumbing Co. submit separate bids to install the clean outs as well as to perform CCTV, then the board can discuss whether to have those done.
Last Plumber: As written above, there are no recurring blockages in the building at this time, so it's at the request of building manager.

Thank you both for taking the time to reply and for your advice in this matter.

One more question if anyone can help: Does warm weather help with naturally flushing all the greasy gunk in pipes to go down into larger city sewer? Perhaps waiting until winter to perform CCTV would give a better idea of just how closed up those arteries can get.

 

[oz-plumber]

If it's only the horizontal drains they are quoting, then why would you bother spending that amount if you don't have any issues.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'clean outs'. We have overflow points, that spill sewer to ground level in case of a blockage.
Should this occur, they are the points a jetter will use to clean the drain from.
Surprised if you don't have any of these points installed in your system.

Personally, I wouldn't bother doing anything until a time that a blockage of any sort is evident.
I don't feel you would benefit anything from having the drains jetted for preventative maintenance.
Camera down the drain - maybe.

It's a lot of money to spend on investigating something that isn't broken.

 

[Ben-gee]

Is this jetting company run by the building manager’s brother?!

Mad to spend on this if there is no history of problems.

 

[Terry Bone]

oz-plumber: I agree the hydro jetting is not needed and this is exactly why I've come to the forum for confirmation and to have ammo (so to speak) when our manager pushes this on the board.
As to the 'Clean outs', this is the language on the bid paperwork. I used it but understand they mean 'overflow points' and, yes, there are some overflow points in the system. Plumbing Co. wants to install 3 more they claim are needed on 3 of the vertical 3" drains to perform proper hydro jetting. Even though it's not needed at this time I'm inclined to consider this part of the bid if price is reasonable only to cover the HOA in the event of future blockages. Yes, there have been issues in the past, although it's been a few years.
Ben-gee: I believe our manager is simply looking to protect building from any mishaps in the future. He is by far the best manager we've ever had and is a good guy to have on your side. That being said I do have to look at the big picture, our building is 41 years old with only 20 units so reserves must be kept at a certain level for whatever may come our way.
Again I thank you for your comments and advice.

 

[Last Plumber]

Like I

Last Plumber: As written above, there are no recurring blockages in the building at this time, so it's at the request of building manager.

As I mentioned, if the drains are installed correctly (correct fall) then there is no requirement to do 'preemptive flushing'.
A correctly laid drain has what is referred to as self cleansing velocity. Meaning that the fall is designed to carry all fluid and solid matter away at the same speed. They are normally clean as a whistle to look at.

I am all for inspection and maintenance but there is no need to flush something that is clear.

 

[Terry Bone]

Last Plumber: Thank you for explaining the fall, I will confirm that our system is correctly sloping in the right direction. If it is determined that the fall of our horizontal pipes is not correct I will order CCTV in the winter when grease solidification would be at it's worst.