When a kitchen sink gurgles, a shower backs up, or sewage starts to pool in the basement, you have a clogged drain emergency.

For residents of Toronto, choosing the right professional drain cleaning method is crucial not just for a quick fix, but for the long-term health of your plumbing system. The primary debate boils down to using a mechanical plumber’s snake (auger) or high-pressure water hydro jetting to clear a clogged drain. This detailed guide explores both methods to help you make an informed decision for your home’s blocked pipes.

What is a Plumber’s Snake (Auger) and When is it Used?

A plumber’s snake, also known as a drain auger, is a flexible, metal cable that is fed into a pipe to manually clear an obstruction. The end of the cable often features a corkscrew tip or a small blade designed to break up soft clogs or latch onto debris (like hair or objects) so it can be pulled out or pushed through.

The Mechanism

A professional-grade electric auger—or rooter service machine—uses motor power to spin the cable as it advances deep into the pipe, giving it the mechanical force to chew through tougher blockages.

Best Use Cases

The plumber’s snake is the ideal choice for simple, localized, or “soft” clogs. This includes removing hair, soap scum, and minor personal care product residue from bathroom sinks and tubs, clearing heavy toilet paper or small objects from toilet blockages, and providing urgent relief when an active backup requires the fastest possible restoration of flow.

Snaking is a quick and effective short-term solution that is gentle on pipes, making it the safer default option for older Toronto homes with potentially fragile plumbing, such as clay or cast iron.

What is Hydro Jetting and How Does It Work?

Hydro jetting is a modern, non-invasive method of sewer cleaning that uses highly pressurized water—often ranging from 3,000 to 8,000 PSI—to thoroughly clean the interior surfaces of your pipes.

The Mechanism

A specialized hose and nozzle are inserted into the drain cleanout access point. The nozzle is designed to fire powerful streams of water both forward (to bore through the clog) and backward (to propel the nozzle and flush debris back out of the line). This process doesn’t just punch a hole in the blockage; it scours the entire circumference of the pipe wall.

Best Use Cases

Hydro jetting is recommended for severe, stubborn, or recurring clogs. This is the only way to effectively handle grease and sludge buildup (which hardens in kitchen drains), root intrusion (where high-pressure water can shear off and flush out tree roots), and for pre-lining preparation to ensure pipe walls are clean before trenchless repairs. It is also an essential part of routine preventative drain maintenance in high-use commercial settings.

Head-to-Head Comparison: Hydro Jetting vs. Snaking

 Effectiveness on Different Types of Clogs

For simple clogs like hair and soap scum, the plumber’s snake is highly effective as it provides quick, localized removal. However, for serious buildup, Hydro Jetting offers superior results.

• When dealing with grease and sludge, snaking is poor because it only punches a small hole and leaves most of the residue behind, whereas jetting scours the walls completely clean.
• For tree roots, snaking is effective as it cuts them, but it leaves root fuzz that quickly regrows. Jetting is best because it slices and thoroughly flushes all root material from the pipe.
• For hard deposits such as mineral scale or heavy sand/silt, the snake is limited in its effectiveness. Hydro jetting with rotary nozzles is superior as it breaks up and flushes all heavy sediment.

For a thorough, full-diameter clean that restores the pipe to near-original condition, Hydro Jetting is unmatched. You can read more in detail about its benefits here.

Cost Comparison in the Toronto Area

Cost is a major factor in the decision to hydro jet or snake a clogged drain in Toronto.

• Plumber’s Snake Cost: This is typically the less expensive option upfront, ranging from $275 to $550 for a standard residential drain clearing service, depending on the clog’s location and severity.
• Hydro Jetting Cost: The initial investment is higher, typically ranging from $480 to $1,000+ for residential lateral line jetting.

While snaking is cheaper upfront, if a clog recurs quickly due to unremoved grease, the repeated cost of service can easily surpass the initial cost of hydro jetting. The long-term savings often favour the more effective cleaning method.

Impact on Your Pipes (Safety and Longevity)

The plumber’s snake is generally safer for older, brittle, or corroded pipes in Toronto because its mechanical action is localized and less forceful. However, there is a small risk that excessive force could snag on an existing crack and worsen pipe damage.

Hydro Jetting is extremely safe for modern, well-maintained pipes like PVC. The risk is primarily to older infrastructure. If a pipe is already cracked, severely corroded (common in older Toronto cast iron), or has compromised joints, the immense pressure of the water can exacerbate the damage, potentially leading to a leak or break.

Long-Term vs. Short-Term Solution

The key difference between the two methods lies in their scope:

• Snaking is a Short-Term Fix: It aims only to restore flow by creating a path through the blockage. It doesn’t clean the pipe walls, leaving the sticky residue (grease, scale) that causes the next clog to form almost immediately.
• Hydro Jetting is a Long-Term Solution: It provides true sewer cleaning by completely cleaning the entire interior surface, removing the primary causes of recurrence. This method significantly extends the time needed between drain cleaning Toronto appointments, making it a powerful form of preventative drain maintenance.

Why a Camera Inspection is Crucial Before Choosing

 In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), many homes have older clay or cast iron sewer lines that are prone to tree root intrusion and age-related deterioration. Because of the potential risks associated with high pressure on weakened pipes, a camera inspection is highly recommended—and often mandatory—before performing hydro jetting.

1. Diagnosis: The camera confirms the exact nature of the blockage (grease, roots, silt, or a foreign object) and the pipe’s material.
2. Safety Check: A plumber can identify severe cracks, separations, or collapsed sections that would make hydro jetting unsafe and potentially lead to costly flooding or sewer repairs.
3. Accuracy: It ensures the plumber uses the correct nozzle and pressure setting for the specific issue, maximizing effectiveness and minimizing risk.

Making the Right Choice for Your Toronto Home

The debate of hydro jetting vs snaking a clogged drain is settled not by which is better, but which is right for your specific plumbing scenario.

• For a slow-draining sink that’s a first-time issue, the plumber’s snake is recommended for its quick, affordable, and minimally invasive nature.
• For a recurring main line clog, Hydro Jetting (with a Camera Inspection) is the better choice. It guarantees the removal of heavy buildup and root hairs that snaking leaves behind, providing true, long-lasting sewer cleaning.
• In an active sewage backup emergency, snaking is often used first to punch a hole and restore emergency flow quickly, followed by jetting later for the complete, long-term clean.
• For confirmed root intrusion, Hydro Jetting is the only way to thoroughly clear the root systems and significantly delay their recurrence.

Contact D.Jason Plumbing

Ultimately, a reliable plumber in Toronto will use their expertise, backed by a camera inspection, to recommend the safest, most effective solution for your blocked pipes, ensuring your home has clear drains and reliable preventive maintenance. For any questions or to schedule a consultation, contact D. Jason Plumbing today.

 

 

Source: ​​https://www.homestars.com/plumbing/price-guides/plumbing-cost

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pouring the wrong things down your drain can result in bad odours, frustrating blockages, unexpected calls to your plumber, and, ultimately, long-term damage. Knowing what is and is not safe to pour down your drain will help you maintain the integrity of your plumbing.

What Is Not Safe To Pour Down My Drains?

Many property owners believe that if something fits, it’s safe to pour it down the drain, which is far from the truth. While there are obvious things that are a risk to the integrity of your drains, the most dangerous ones are less obvious.

Although you can contact us to discuss our Drain Cleaning Services, it’s also important to recognize proactive actions you can take in your day-to-day life.

Some of the most damaging things to put down your drain include:

Grease: Food grease is one of the most detrimental substances to pour down your drain. It coats the inside and creates a buildup that will prevent the flow of liquids from smoothly going down your drain. As time goes on, grease buildup can result in full blockages and costly repairs.

The city of Toronto recommends you let cooking grease, such as bacon fat, harden at room temperature in a paper towel. Once the grease has solidified in the paper towel, you can place it in the green bin.

Hair: Like grease, washing hair down your drain can have both immediate and long-term impacts on the integrity of your drains. While small amounts of hair may only slow drainage, as time passes, it can result in more impacting blockage on the surface and along the line of your property.

Coffee Grains: While a cup of coffee alone is safe to pour down the drain, residual grains are problematic. Contrary to popular belief, coffee grains do not dissolve in water. By pouring them down your drain, you are creating/ adding to existing minor blockages in the line.

Harsh cleaning chemicals: While there are many drain cleaning products on the market designed to assist with unclogging drains, there are many household cleaners that can be detrimental. The wrong products will gradually eat away at your pipes and cause serious issues.

Other household items that you should not put down your drains include:

Any solid food, including rice and pasta, thick sauces, honey, nail clippings, medication, paint, eggshells, doughs or other flour-based products, oatmeal, and many other household products.

What Preventative Measures Can I Take?

Accidents happen! Spills, young hands, and other mistakes are inevitable, but there are proactive actions you can take to prepare should something unsafe end up in your drain.

These include:

Drain catchers: These are available for various sink types, including a wide range of kitchen and bathroom sinks. They will act as a barrier between the surface of your drain and the pipe below to prevent food, hair, and other random objects from going down your drain.

Preventative High Pressure Clean: Maintaining the integrity of your drains is invaluable to you as a property owner. If a drain shows any indication of being blocked, or you want to be proactive, you should review our blog on The Benefits of High-Pressure Drain Cleaning.

What Is My Drain Equipped To Handle?

Now that we have reviewed the risks of what not to put down your drain, you might be asking yourself what is safe? The list of things that are safe to pour down the drain in your Etobicoke property is surprisingly short. Liquids such as water, milk, tea, juice, and most other fluids are safe. If you are unsure if the liquid is safe, it’s best to play it safe and dispose of the substance in a sealed container in your garbage.

Contact D. Jason Plumbing Today.

If you’d like help ensuring your drains are running smoothly or would like to discuss preventative maintenance, contact us today.

You may not think that there is a season for doing your drain maintenance, but summer can be the perfect time to get some work done on the drains in your Etobicoke home and make sure they’re maintained properly for the winter. Here are some drain maintenance tasks that you should consider doing this summer:

Use a Drain Strainer

This device is mostly for bathtubs and showers, and it helps keep hair and other items from going down the drains. It looks like a little basket that sits in your drain. It will collect hair, and then you can remove the basket to dump out whatever it collects. This can be helpful for preventing major clogs in your drain. 

Clean out Gutters and Downspouts

Over the winter, leaves and other debris will gather in your gutter and downspouts, so it’s important to take them out. Removing these items can help prevent major leaks – which can happen when leaves build up and prevent water from draining out the gutters and downspouts as it should. Since water has to go somewhere, it will often back up and leak into the house. 

Check Your Home for Leaks

Winter can be harsh on our homes in Canada, so during the summer, it’s the perfect time to check for any leaks that could have happened due to thawing in the spring. Regularly checking for leaks around your home means you most likely will find issues when they are small, and you can easily fix them instead of waiting until issues become major and cause severe damage.

Perimeter Drain Inspection

If you have a perimeter drain that gets blocked, it can lead to flooding in your basement and problems with your foundation. Having a professional come out and do an inspection in the summer means you are going into the next winter knowing your home is safe and there aren’t any issues that need your attention. 

If you do have any small issues, you can address them in the summer when they are discovered before they become worse.

Consider a Backwater Valve for your Floor Drains

If you live in an area prone to flooding when there are heavy storms, a backwater valve is a good addition to your home to help protect your home from flooding or water damage. You will need a plumber to come in and install this for your home, but that expense could be well worth it to prevent a flood from happening. 

Many cities, such as Toronto have a backwater valve rebate, as do many other cities in Ontario.

Contact D. Jason Plumbing Today

Doing a little bit of drain maintenance in the summer on your Etobicoke home can help save you from needing to do costly repairs later on as well as dealing with insurance claims. Contact us today to have one of our licensed plumbers come in for an inspection. 

As a homeowner, you never want to deal with a water or sewage backup. So to keep your home’s drains and pipes in good working order, you should complete regular maintenance on your piping system – just like you would other parts of your home.

Getting a camera inspection is one of the best ways to avoid costly and stressful plumbing problems and should be a part of your plumbing maintenance. Here’s what you should know about getting one done at your home.

What Is a Plumbing Video Camera Inspection?

Experienced plumbers use a plumbing video camera inspection to visually observe the state of your home’s drain system. With the help of a flexible cable, a customized video camera is inserted into your plumbing system to complete a thorough inspection. As the camera works its way through your pipes, a plumber monitors its progress from ground level on a monitor.

Also known as a drain camera inspection, this inspection can accurately identify plumbing issues without unnecessary mess or expense. The cutting-edge technology can determine your plumbing problem’s exact cause and location, highlighting any area needing repair.

Benefits of Choosing a Plumbing Video Camera Inspection

Many plumbing issues are hard to detect with the naked eye since they’re often located deep inside your plumbing system. Until plumbing video camera inspections were available, finding the cause of a plumbing problem could be very messy and time-consuming. Traditional plumbers often have to remove drywall, damage your lawn, and make other significant messes to find and repair the concern. There is less time spent determining the cause with plumbing video camera inspections, leading to a quicker repair. Along the way, less mess created is created, too.

Plumbing video camera inspections serve a wide range of purposes. They’re helpful if you need to locate a missing valuable that fell down the drain, check the condition of a plumbing system in a home you’re considering purchasing, and identify the actual cause of an annoying leak. This type of inspection is beneficial at detecting tree root damage to your drainage system as well as cracked, deformed, and crushed plumbing pipes.

Getting one completed as part of your home’s plumbing maintenance can provide early identification and resolution of future problems – leading to immense savings and less stress. They ensure your pipes are operating correctly and extend the lifespan and performance of your plumbing system.

Hiring D. Jason Plumbing for a Camera Inspection

Our video camera inspections help locate your plumbing problem’s specific cause and location, with no unnecessary damage to your property. In business since 1988, our professional, certified plumbers use the latest video technology available to quickly and correctly repair your plumbing issue.

For more information about our plumbing services in the Etobicoke, Mississauga, and Toronto areas, reach out to our team of professionals today.

You have various debris in your water lines, and your plumber is recommending something called hydro jetting. But you’ve never even heard of it before! From what it is to if it really works, here’s what you should know about hydro jetting – and whether you should complete it at your home or business.

What Is Hydro Jetting?

Hydro jetting is similar to power washing – but instead of cleaning your home’s siding or business’s patio, you clean the dirt, corrosion, and clogs from your plumbing pipes.

Various hydro jetting PSI levels are available, with some pressures as high as 60,000 PSI. This makes the process suitable for many plumbing tasks, including standard pipe cleaning, surface preparation for pipe liner application, and removing residual oils, sediment, or corroded debris.

Municipal, commercial, and residential settings can benefit from hydro jetting.

What Are the Benefits of Hydro Jetting?

One of the biggest benefits of hydro jetting is that the method is entirely chemical-free. No damage is caused to inner pipe walls, making it safe to clean all types of pipelines, including cement sewer lines, steel pipe, cast iron pipe, Orangeburg pipelines, clay pipe, and PVC or resin-based pipes.

Hydro jetting is non-invasive and much more affordable than manual pipe repair. The application can be used on pipes ranging from 1.5 inches in diameter to four feet in diameter. For pipes that continue to get clogged, the process helps find a long-term solution. Serious blockages such as tree roots can even be cleared out with the system’s pressurized water.

It’s also much more effective than traditional snaking. Clogged city sewer lines are no match for the thousands of PSI levels found in hydro jetting. The lines are cleaned more effectively and at a lower price tag than alternative methods.

Commercial settings like restaurants, bars or apartment buildings often include hydro jetting as part of regular plumbing maintenance – mainly because it’s the best solution for clogging and build-up problems.

Whether you’re a residential or business owner, hydro jetting will lower your sewer services expenses over the coming years. It cleans out minor issues in your pipes before they become bigger ones and reduces the number of times you have to call your plumber.

How Is Hydro Jetting Different From Snaking?

Although pipe and drain snaking can remove large clogs within pipelines, residual materials are often left behind. When hydro jetting is used, even the build-up on pipe walls and grease is removed quickly and easily, in only a single application.

Hire a Professional for Hydro Jetting

Are you tired of constantly having issues with the plumbing pipes at your home or business? Professional hydro jetting is very effective at clearing the silt, dirt, and build-up that accumulates within your pipelines.

Have our team of licensed plumbers see if hydro jetting is the best solution for you! Contact us today for more information about the plumbing services we provide in Etobicoke, Toronto, and the surrounding area.

When any sink in your home is having trouble draining, or it drains slower than usual, it’s such a pain to deal with. Most Etobicoke/Mississauga homeowners don’t have the proper equipment to handle a massive blockage in their home’s drainage system, and ignoring it in the hopes it will go away isn’t going to fix the problem. In all likelihood, ignoring a drain blockage will probably make it much worse.

One of the best ways to fix a blocked drain or sewer in your home is high-pressure drain cleaning. It’s worked for many homeowners, and here’s what you need to know about it. 

It’s Quick

Unlike other methods of cleaning out the drains in your home, high-pressure cleaning is very quick – quicker than any other method. Some homeowners will try to poke or use a drain snake to get the blockage out, but that can be tedious and only provide temporary relief. 

Fabulous Results

People send an unbelievable number of things down the drain regularly that can cause the insides of pipes to become sticky and filled with gunk. Food, oils, fats and even coffee grounds can create this coating that slowly builds up to a blockage over time. With high-pressure drain cleaning, not only will the blockage be cleared out, but the lining of the pipes coming into your home will clear too, so all the build-up will be gone. 

No Damage

With the high pressure going through the pipes of your home, homeowners might think that there will be some damage to the pipes – especially if you live in an older home. The good news is that this method of drain cleaning doesn’t involve any kind of heavy-duty instruments, so there is zero damage done to the pipes of your home. 

Since there isn’t any digging or drilling, only a blast of water down the drain, you don’t have to worry about pieces of your pipes breaking away. Additionally, it will leave your pipes clean and clear of build-up so water will easily drain from your home. 

Regular Maintenance

This kind of drain cleaning doesn’t have to only be used when you notice a blockage. If you do regular maintenance to keep your pipes clear, you can use high-pressure cleaning to make sure the build up is regularly washed away and you don’t have any major blockages. 

Keeping your Mississauga home running smoothly, without any issues, takes regular maintenance and sometimes doing some dirty jobs. Cleaning blocked drains doesn’t have to be one of them. Our licensed plumbers can use high-pressure cleaning to remove that blockage in no time. 

If you have questions about high-pressure drain cleaning, we are a local service in Etobicoke and Mississauga and can help you clean your drains. Give us a call today to book your high-pressure drain cleaning service.