Toilets in an expensive new West Coast home should have worked – immediately.
But after a few flushes, the master bath line backed up. Attempts to clear it repeatedly failed. And the construction company planned to replace a possible crushed line by jackhammering the structure’s concrete slab.
Everyone feared the job would consume several days – until a seasoned drain-cleaning professional with the right equipment mix arrived.
“They wanted me to clear debris from the sewer line after the jack hammer did its work,” Ron Oaks, owner of Art of Plumbing, says. “But I aimed to solve the problem without the expense and disruption of busting the slab.”
Oaks proposed pinpointing the clog with a Gen-Eye® video inspection/location system from General Pipe Cleaners.
The latest Gen-Eye includes a self-leveling color camera that automatically keeps pictures right side up, letting professionals and customers clearly follow the action as the camera glides through the line.
The Command Module includes a 10.4” color monitor and USB recorder in a padded carrying case, with telescoping handle and wheels for easy transport.
Completing system components is the Gen-Eye® Digital Locator, offering easy and accurate camera location and instant depth finding capability.
Oaks fed the camera through the clean-outs, and discovered a 2-in. 45˚ ABS fitting wedged in the brand new 3-in. line.
“Maintenance guys kept snaking the line with small cutters – simply moving the ABS piece around and temporarily breaking the blockage,” Oaks reveals. “Back-ups returned almost immediately.”
Oaks then had to eliminate the 45˚ ABS fitting. He quickly discovered that complicated line fittings prevented him from pushing the obstruction downstream – or upstream toward master bath clean-out.
“So I decided to negotiate the ABS piece past a ‘Y’ in the line through the toilet opening itself.”
Oaks tapped the reach and flexibility of a Maxi-Rooter® drain cleaner. With a compact 23” profile, General’s lightweight, rugged machine features excellent maneuverability, high capacity and power cable feed rates ranging from 0 to 20 ft./min.
Lighter and more maneuverable than other drain cleaners in its class, General’s popular machine features a rugged chassis on 10” ball bearing, semi-pneumatic wheels with V-belt stair climbers for easier transport. Wheel brakes safely lock the machine in place during work or transport.
Choice of cable proved paramount, too.
The high capacity, removable Maxi-Rooter drum holds up to 125 ft. of tough, durable 3/4” Flexicore® cable or 150 ft. of 5/8” Flexicore® cable.
Heavy duty wire tightly coiled around 49-strand aircraft type wire rope, Flexicore cable offers unequalled strength and flexibility. It carries a one-year warranty against defect or breakage – the best cable warranty in the business.
“I couldn’t afford to break a cable and create yet another obstruction!” Oaks says.
Oaks positioned Maxi-Rooter downstream – and a technician with the Gen-Eye camera tracking his progress upstream.
Oaks methodically maneuvered the errant ABS fitting through the toilet opening, eliminating the costly, time-consuming headache everyone feared.
“I couldn’t have permanently fixed this problem without the right equipment mix,” Oaks concludes. “And that’s what General provided!”
For more information, contact the Drain Brains® at General at 800-245-6200 or by email [email protected].
