9523 19th Ave. E, Suite A
Tacoma, WA 98445

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The Premier Plumbing Repair Company in Tacoma, WA

WHAT THEY ARE, HOW THEY WORK, AND WHY YOU NEED THEM IN YOUR LIFE

With all the advances in plumbing technology today, there is perhaps none more important than video inspection technology. Video pipe inspections allow for more regular maintenance inspections, helping you to find leaks, clogs, broken pipes, loose connections, tree root infiltration as well as other problems that might have otherwise required complete excavation of a pipe or drain system. This is accomplished through the use of a small mobile camera called a Rigid See-Snake.

The Rigid See-Snake is an extremely durable reel and camera system that allows you to pinpoint problems underground. It has a flexible camera head, as well as a fiberglass-reinforced pushrod which allows it to execute multiple 90-degree angles and travel up to 325 feet. It’s friction reducing design allows for maximum push with minimal effort. The camera head is also equipped with self-leveling technology, which keeps the image upright as it navigates through turns and fittings. As the snake is pushed down into the pipe, It delivers a clear, sharp image to a Gvision monitor.

Gvision is a high-quality lightweight way to monitor what is happening in your pipes. When coupled with the See-Snake it is a surefire way to catch any obstructed or damaged areas that may exist underground. The monitor is mounted easily onto the camera reel, and can record directly to a thumb drive, hard drive, iPhone, or iPad for later viewing. In addition, an LCD screen and internal battery allow for up to four hours of full-color video inspection time that can be seen even in direct sunlight. Once an internal problem is spotted on the screen, the trouble area is found using a Rigid Locator.

The Rigid Locator is (just as it sounds) a fast easy way to locate exactly where your See-Snake has spotted an affected, or compromised area. This piece of equipment is extremely helpful, as it is able to guide you down the snake line as well as measure the depth of the camera head. When used along with the See-Snake, and Gvision monitor it allows for a quick and accurate diagnosis of pipes with no need to excavate the entire line.

The importance of regularly scheduled camera inspections cannot be emphasized enough. They are an extremely crucial part of sewer repair and maintenance. Due to the underground nature of sewer systems and pipes, it is easy to slip into an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality when it comes to check-ups and upkeep. This can be detrimental to the quality and general integrity of your pipes. There are three specific times when it is most important to schedule an inspection: when you notice a problem and want to diagnose it accurately, before you purchase a home, and lastly if it has been more than a couple of years since your last inspection and your home is more than 30 years old. The benefits of a regularly scheduled inspection are vast, ranging from the prevention of back ups and blockages to the removal of dirt, tree roots, sand, and grit. Most importantly, regularly scheduled inspections can help determine the overall quality of your sewer so you can identify and prevent potential issues before they become real issues.

For more information on camera inspections and pipe maintenance, feel free to contact our office at your convenience.

Sewer Inspections

For as far back as there have been sewer systems, there have been clogged pipes. Luckily with today’s advanced technology, we can deal with this age old problem in a completely modern way. For the toughest clogs, you need the toughest solution: hydro jetting.

The basic principle behind hydro jetting is using a strong jet of water to dislodge even the most stubborn of obstructions, while consequently cleaning your sewer lines at the same time. While snaking may only punch a hole through the clog to permit drainage for a short period, using a jetter will actually break up whatever is causing the stoppage and allow it to flow freely from the pipe, thus completely clearing the way for water drainage.

Hydro jetting utilizes several different styles of jetter heads to push 2-18 gallons of water through pipes at an estimated 4000PSI. Using both forward and rear facing nozzles, the head is forced forward into the obstruction while strong jets of water break it apart, as well as clean the pipe walls. The jetter head is attached to a high pressure hose which is in turn connected to a water reservoir. The reservoir allows the jetter to be used remotely and independant from an outside water source.

Depending on the size of the jetter, it can clear pipes anywhere from 1 ½ to 12 inches. While jetting is a great way to get rid of complete blockages, this can be an expensive and tedious job that will shut down traffic, businesses, and buildings. With regular routine maintenance from a high pressure jet, these problems can be avoided before they even have a chance to occur.

Hydro jetting is a great option for both commercial and residential areas. The jets are able to flush out any sand or silt buildup from a septic system, as well as clear out roots and other obstructions that snaking can’t handle. In a commercial setting the plumbing is used much more frequently, and therefore is prone to many more maintenance issues. Hydro jetting can be a great preventative tool, and will reduce the chance of losing business and inconveniencing customers. From the residential perspective a hydro jetter is usually your last option before needing to replace either part or all of your sewer line. Many times cutting the roots out with a hydro jetter can buy the home owner a year or two to save the funds needed to completely replace the sewer pipe.

Because of the expensive and dangerous nature of jetting machinery, many plumbing companies do not offer this service. Here at Harts Services we are proud to say that our technicians are highly trained and knowledgeable about the equipment used in this process. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the maintenance or repair of your pipes through jetting, please feel free to contact our office.

Hydro Jetting: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Jet

There are circumstances in life that are out of our control. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in something you aren’t even aware is an issue until it’s too late. I recently was in a spot like this myself when I experienced a back-up in my pipes. While I personally am not a plumber, I am glad to have our company as a part of my team. After this experience I can completely empathize when someone calls in and says their shower and/or sink is backing up with sewage. Thankfully, in my situation I knew the gist of what could have been the issue.

Since the situation started when I ran my washer it was most likely a back-up in my main sewer line, or a blockage in the drain line(s) leading to my house. This was also causing my toilet to leak around the base due to water pressure build up in my bathroom. Luckily, I was able to get on the schedule without too much waiting and get a tech out to my house. He found not only that my sewer line wasn’t in the best of shape, but that it was blocked with mounds upon mounds of those handy “flush-able” wipes. Given my profession, (and previous blogs) I am fully aware that anything labelled “flush-able” (unless it is toilet paper) is not, so these wipes could not have come from us. Searching for answers, I went back to the landlord of the house. They said the wipes most likely came from a combination of them and the previous owner over the years.

Assuming the owner of my house, and previous owner didn’t know about that fun little scam “flush-able” wipes companies are running, no one was truly at fault for the issue. Unfortunately it was an urgent issue. I was without service for 24 hours, as well as the next morning until it was cleared out with a hydro jetter. With this story I hope to convey that just because you aren’t guilty of causing issues with your home, doesn’t mean you won't possibly suffer from past wear and tear. It’s never too early to have someone come out and give a camera inspection on the line just to make sure it’s in good condition. In most cities, homeowners own their entire sewer line until it reaches the city main connection.

When your line needs to be repaired or replaced, it’s up to you to fix it. Preventative measures taken to protect your line are very important for making sure it will last as long as you’re there, and hopefully beyond that if you plan on moving. Luckily for you, our Tacoma plumbers have cut down the cost of our main line sewer camera inspections through a clean out. They used to go for $225.00 and now are just $89.00! That’s a price reduction of $139.00! As I’ve said before, just because you aren’t aware of an issue now there is no harm in doing routine maintenance to keep your home in the best possible shape! If you would like to have your sewer lines checked, or have any other questions on pricing on a hydro-jetter or snake please don’t hesitate to call us!

It happens to the best of us!

Recently, Harts Services has acquired a few new pieces of equipment that we are very excited for. These new items will make our drain cleaning and sewer line jobs (and your lives!) a lot easier. The first of these pieces of equipment is our new hydro-jetter!

Hydro-jetting is an effective, economical, and environmentally safe form of pipe cleaning that uses high pressurized water to clean out debris or blockages within your residential or commercial drain lines. There are multiple options for clearing out a blockage, but high-pressure water jetting seems to be the most effective compared to other methods.

For smaller clogs, getting your drain line “snaked” is the most common solution. Snaking a drain is generally most effective when there is a blockage caused by debris that is easily removed from a line such as a toilet or kitchen-sink drain. Sometimes when dealing with roots or other issues in a larger and longer line such as a main sewer line, it is not always possible for a snake to do the job. Because of its blunt end, using a snake generally just pushes through or compacts whatever the blockage may be.. On the other hand, the hydro-jetter equipment uses water that shoots out of one or both sizes of interchangeable nozzles which range from 1.5 to 8 inches in diameter. This process is very effective for removing large or small debris from your line in a very quick and easy fashion.

We recently acquired a Bruiser series cart jetter (as seen in photo above) that pumps out over 5 gallons of water per minute at 3,000 pounds per square inch! It is a fairly simple process to have your pipe hydro jetted by our technicians. After having a camera inspection done on your line, and seeing if there may be standing water, root intrusions, grease or other build up the jetter is attched to a hose spigot on one end. On the other, a hose that has a metal nozzle multiple holes is put into the drain line and started. Once the water is running, the jetter is pushed farther into the line and pulled back and forth a couple times to ensure it is effective. It is then sent to the end of the pipe length and retracted. Thats all there is to it. Usually it doesn’t take more than a couple of hours for the whole process to be completed, and the cleaning is about as good as it gets without the cost of repairs or replacement of the pipe.

If your pipe does have cracks or damage, unfortunately hydro jetting is just a temporary fix. Any line that does not have stable walls will eventually need to be repaired or replaced. There are other options for fixing that as well. For example: pipe bursting, or a pipe liner. It is always nice having alternative options to trench digging on a property. The option to jet a line that is causing issues is a growing fad that it is appreciated for its effectiveness, and how fast it can be done. We are more than happy to come out to make sure your drain line is in working, and productive order, and t assess if hydro jetting would be a good option for you. If you would like to set up an appointment to see if hydro jetting would be a good option for you, please don’t hesitate to call!

Harts new Equipment! Hydro-jetter

Anything you need to keep water flowing through your home or business facility, our plumbing company can handle it! Why do any of the dirty work yourself when there are skilled, experienced sewer pipe experts right in your backyard? Our company provides sewer pipe repair, maintenance, and installation, as well as 

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Customer service and answered the phone was pleasant and helpful. Person who came on site to discuss the work was thorough, gave great advice, and made suggestions for future planning.

Hart's Services got here about 3 hours after calling them. Very courteous and helpful with going over my options for all of my plumbing needs. They are getting our emergency repair work completed for a reasonable rate.

Very friendly, very knowledgeable. Made replacing my whole sewer line as painless as possible.

Quality Plumbing Services in the Tacoma Area

At Harts Services, our #1 priority is your utmost satisfaction. We won’t just show up at your location and provide easy fixes that will eventually come undone, causing you more aggravation and costing you more money. Our plumbers provide lasting results at affordable prices, holding themselves to the highest standard for excellence in every job they undertake. We also offer peace of mind inspections, maintenance plans, and customer education to ensure complete peace of mind today and in the future.

When Others Say They Can't, We Say We Can!

Harts has amazing customer service and responded promptly to our plumbing emergency! Chris has been to our home in the past and is very knowledgeable and professional. Harts is a great local company to work with.

I was so happy to finally get my faucets outside my house fixed. Anytime I turned them on they dripped, dripped, dripped. Now I have frost free hose bibs and no drips! Thanks Harts!

Harts Services is a very professional company. We called because our sewer was backing up into our home and they had someone at our house within the hour.

Fast service, excellent follow-up, and Tim who performed the service was excellent and easy to work with. Will definitely use again if needed.

Thank you Chris McAlister from Harts Services. The service was professional, quick but thorough. Thank you

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