Sewer Camera Inspection: What to Expect

A sewer camera inspection is the single most useful diagnostic in sewer work, and it's far less dramatic than most homeowners expect. No digging, no mess — just answers. Here's the play-by-play.

How it works

A waterproof camera on the end of a flexible push-rod goes into your line through a cleanout (or a temporarily pulled toilet). The technician feeds it from your house toward the street while watching a live monitor. A locator beacon on the camera head lets us mark the exact position and depth of anything interesting from above ground.

How long it takes

Most residential inspections take 30–60 minutes, including setup. You'll watch the monitor along with the technician — it's genuinely fascinating to see inside your own pipes.

What the camera can find

• Tree root intrusion at joints
• Cracks, fractures, and separated joints
• Bellied (sagging) sections holding water
• Scale buildup narrowing cast iron
• Collapsed or crushed sections
• Foreign objects and construction debris
• The line's material, depth, and length

What you get afterward

The full video recording, a written summary with timestamps marking each finding, and a repair recommendation tied to the footage. Keep that recording — it's your evidence for second opinions, insurance claims, and real-estate negotiations.

When to get one

Recurring backups, any home purchase involving an older property, before major landscaping or driveway work over the line's path, and any time someone quotes you a repair without showing you footage. At $150–$400, it's the cheapest certainty in sewer work.

What it can't do

The camera shows the pipe's interior, not the soil around it — and it can't see through standing water in a fully flooded line (we may jet first). But for structural condition, it's definitive. To schedule one in the Buffalo Grove area, call (833) 713-2101.