You have an emergency sewer line catastrophe where your pipes are backed up, and sewage is flowing the opposite way than the way we all wish it would. You have frantically contacted your trusty sewer and plumbing specialist for an inspection and solution, and now the term “rodding” is being used, and you’re not quite sure what that means. Fear not, sewer rodding and power rodding are your friends!

“Sewer rodding” is a term used in the sewer and plumbing industry which generally means to “clean out debris”. However, instead of using a handy-dandy toilet plunger as you would to force air through a clogged toilet drain, a steel rod is usually inserted directly into your pipes to force the obstruction through.

Traditional sewer rodding can involve the use of a back-hoe on your grounds to clear out an area to access your pipes if the access point is not more easily accessible. Once your pipes are opened and inspected, they are cleaned out and your water is flowing in the right direction again.

But, some sewer rodding jobs are a bit more complicated. If a sewer line cannot be cleared with traditional sewer rodding, then the next option is Power Rodding. Power rodding is especially useful on tree roots which have infiltrated your pipes.

Power rodding is your solution to save potentially hundreds or thousands of dollars in excavation, machinery, and re-landscaping.

Power rodding is the action of a mechanical snake-like steel cable which is capable of traveling through longer lengths of pipe to get to the far-away source of the clog and debris. A power rodding electric motor is attached to a long steel cable with special serrated teeth at the end of it which can gnaw, tear, and cut through anything in its path. Once it’s inserted through an accessed pipe, it can snake along and attack the blockage much more efficiently than digging up your yard and trying to locate the pipe with the blockage.

After the work is done, the back-hoe is used to recover the area that just had the sewer rodding work performed.

Some sewer rodding jobs are quick and simple for the knowledgeable professional, where the clog or debris is somewhat easily reached with traditional and more basic sewer rodding tools. And some can be a bit more complicated. However, neither scenario has to be scary for the homeowner. Let the efficient and friendly professionals at Open-Drains assess your drainage situation and recommend the easiest and more cost-effective solution for your sewer concerns. Call us and enjoy seeing your water flow down your drains again!