Hydro Jetting in Glendale, AZ

My house is from the 1980s. Is jetting safe for its pipes?

Usually, yes. Glendale's median home was built around 1985, so many houses here have plastic drain lines that tolerate jetting well. Older neighborhoods closer to downtown Glendale can have cast iron, and a decades-old iron line under a slab may be rough, scaled or thin in spots. That's why a plumber will often push a camera through first. If the pipe is sound, jetting at a suitable pressure cleans it without harm. If the camera shows a crack, a collapsed section or a badly offset joint, jetting is the wrong tool and the conversation shifts to repair.

Is the backup the city's problem or mine?

The City of Glendale Water Services Department runs both the water and the wastewater systems, so the public sewer mains are the city's. The pipe from your house to that main is private. A simple test: if neighbors are having the same trouble, call Glendale Water Services at 623-930-4100 because the main may be involved. If the backup is only in your house, the lateral or building drain is far more likely, and that's a call to a plumber.

Will I need a permit?

Cleaning out a line is maintenance. But Glendale's building permit Q&A states that replacing drain or waste piping requires a permit, so if the camera turns up a section that has to come out, the plumber will pull one through the city's Building Safety division before the repair.

A local note

Some lots near downtown Glendale still get Salt River Project irrigation water through the city's urban irrigation system. Regular irrigation keeps soil moist, and moist soil around a lateral can draw roots toward any loose joint. If your yard is irrigated that way and the sewer keeps slowing down, mention it when you call; it helps the plumber decide whether to plan for a root cutter head and a follow-up camera inspection. It also helps to know roughly where the lateral leaves the house and whether a cleanout was ever added, since many older Glendale homes were built without an easy outdoor access point. Homes in the Hedgepeth Hills area get water billed by the City of Phoenix, but that doesn't change who to call for a clogged private drain: a plumber.