Sewer Camera Inspection Services

A sewer camera inspection (sewer scope) puts a camera in your line and shows you its material, defects and grade on screen, with a surface trace of where it runs and how deep. Pro Sewer Repair shows you what the camera finds and explains it in plain language — the fix is chosen from evidence, not guesswork.

What is a sewer camera inspection?

A technician feeds a camera on a push cable into the sewer — from a cleanout, a pulled toilet or a roof vent — and watches a monitor as it travels to the city main. The camera head carries a radio sonde, so a locator on the surface can mark the route and the depth of any defect. The visit ends with the trace, a plain-language explanation of what was found and, if there is a problem, every viable option in writing before a price. What happens during a sewer camera inspection walks through the visit step by step.

What can the camera find?

• The material — clay, concrete, Orangeburg, cast iron, ABS or PVC — which tells you how the line fails and how long it has left. The house-age pipe guide predicts it; the camera confirms it.
• Roots at joints and cracks, and how far along the run they go.
• Offset joints, cracks, holes and crushed or dropped sections.
• A belly — a low spot holding standing water — and whether the line still holds grade.
• Scale, grease and sediment narrowing the bore, and whether cabling or hydrojetting is the right cleaning.
• The connection at the main, and where the side sewer becomes the city's responsibility.

Every finding comes with a distance from the entry point and, from the locator, a mark on the surface. That is what turns a vague "your sewer is bad" into a specific, priced option. For more on root intrusion, read how to prevent and remove root intrusion in sewer lines.

When should I get a sewer scope?

• Before buying a house — the side sewer is the one system a home inspection does not see. A sewer scope when buying or selling a Seattle home explains what to ask for.
• When a clog comes back after it was cabled, or when every drain slows at once — a repeat blockage is a symptom, not the problem.
• Before any sewer repair — nobody should quote a liner, a bursting job or a replacement from the curb.
• For a townhome or shared line, to sort out what was actually built — see townhome side sewers.
• For a property manager or HOA, as the documented baseline for each building — see what sewer records to keep.

Two related reads: the value of a pre-purchase sewer camera inspection and the link between slow drains and bigger sewer problems.

How do I read the sewer scope report?

We show you the footage, the distances and the surface trace with depths, and explain the findings in plain language. The guide to reading a sewer scope report explains the words that show up in any sewer scope report — offset, belly, root ball, host pipe, cleanout — and the sewer glossary defines the rest. If another contractor has already scoped your line, we will review their footage as a free second opinion.

What happens after the inspection?

Often, nothing but a record that the line is fine. When the camera finds a problem, you see every option that fits — cleaning if it is buildup, a spot repair if it is one bad section, a BlueLight liner or pipe bursting if the line needs a trenchless fix, or a full replacement — with the trade-offs in writing before a price. A camera inspection never obligates you to a repair.

What affects the cost of a sewer scope?

We do not publish a price range for camera inspections. What moves the number is access — a cleanout at the house is the simplest; pulling a toilet or going in from a roof vent takes longer — the length of the run, whether the line has to be cleared before the camera can pass, and whether you want a surface locate with depths and written findings for a real-estate file. Ask to see the footage and the locate; they are what make the inspection worth paying for. A second opinion on another contractor's footage is free.

Does the camera find problems with the city main?

It shows the connection at the main and whether the side sewer is flowing into it cleanly, but the main itself is the utility's. Inside Seattle, the side sewer is private from the house to that connection, and problems in the public main are Seattle Public Utilities' to fix. Is my house on a combined sewer explains why some backups in the older core happen in heavy rain even when the side sewer is fine.

Why Pro Sewer Repair for a sewer camera inspection?

Because we look at the line on camera before recommending anything, and we show you what we found and every viable option. Family-owned and sewer-first in Seattle since 2017; you watch the monitor, and the findings are explained without jargon. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, estimates and second opinions free. Call (425) 478-3133 or request a sewer scope online.