Can Hydro Jetting Damage Old Pipes?

Hydro jetting is safe for sewer pipe in good shape. Older pipe needs a closer look first, and sometimes jetting is the wrong call.

Pipe types in older San Antonio homes

• Cast iron: strong when sound, but it rusts and scales from the inside over decades.
• Clay: resists corrosion, but its joints let roots in, and it can crack when soil shifts.
• Orangeburg: a fiber pipe used in some mid-century homes that softens and deforms with age.

When jetting is the wrong call

• Cast iron that's thin, flaking or has holes.
• A collapsed or crushed section.
• Orangeburg pipe that has lost its shape.
• Joints that have shifted far out of line.

How to protect yourself

Ask for a camera inspection before any jetting on an older line, and footage after. If the camera shows weak pipe, ask about repair options in writing before agreeing to jetting.

Is hydro jetting safe for cast iron pipes?

Sound cast iron handles it. Thin or flaking cast iron may not, so a camera inspection should come first.