When a drain backs up, there are two main ways a plumber clears it: a cable (snake) or hydro jetting. They sound similar but do very different things, and picking the wrong one is how homeowners end up paying to clear the same line over and over. Here's how to tell which your line actually needs.
What drain snaking does
A snake is a flexible steel cable fed down the line with a cutting or grabbing head. It punches through or hooks out the blockage, which reopens the pipe and gets things flowing again. It's fast, affordable, and the right tool for a lot of everyday clogs — a toy, a wad of wipes, a single grease plug.
Its limit: a snake makes a hole through the clog but leaves the grease, scale, or root film coating the pipe wall. If that buildup is the real problem, the line narrows and clogs again — often within weeks.
What hydro jetting does
Hydro jetting uses a stream of water at very high pressure through a specialized nozzle to scour the entire inside wall of the pipe. It cuts through hardened grease, flushes out mineral scale, and shreds root intrusion — removing the buildup itself, not just boring a channel through it. The line is left genuinely clean.
Which one does your line need?
Snaking is the right call when…
- It's a one-off clog in a single fixture
- You've got a known object or a simple blockage
- The line is otherwise clean and this is the first time it's clogged
Hydro jetting is the right call when…
- The same drain keeps clogging after it's been snaked
- It's a grease-heavy kitchen or restaurant line
- The main line is sluggish from scale or sludge
- A camera inspection shows buildup or roots coating the pipe
Why we camera before we jet
Jetting is powerful, which means it isn't right for a fragile, corroded, or collapsed pipe. That's why we run a sewer camera inspection first to confirm the line can take the pressure and to see what we're actually dealing with. If the camera shows damage, jetting won't fix it — you'd need a sewer repair instead, and we'll tell you that honestly rather than blast a broken pipe.
The cheaper option isn't always cheaper
A snake costs less per visit. But if your line needs jetting and you keep snaking it, you pay for the snake again every few weeks. For recurring clogs across Cibolo and Seguin, a one-time jetting usually costs less over a year — and leaves you with a line that's actually clean. Call (831) 290-4327 and we'll camera it first, then recommend the method that fixes it for good.
How We Decide — and Why the Camera Settles It
The honest way to choose between snaking and jetting isn't a rule of thumb — it's looking inside the pipe. We run a camera to see whether the line is basically clean with a single obstruction (snake it) or coated wall-to-wall in grease, scale, or roots (jet it). The camera also tells us the one thing that overrides everything: whether the pipe is sound enough to jet at all. We won't put high pressure through a line that's cracked or collapsing.
There's a pattern we see constantly in older Cibolo neighborhoods: a line that's been snaked every few months for a year. Each snaking 'works' for a few weeks because it reopens a channel, but the grease or root film is still there, so it closes right back up. One camera-guided jetting usually ends that cycle — and if the camera reveals the real problem is a broken pipe, the homeowner finally gets the right fix instead of another temporary one.
Frequently Asked Questions
For old pipes in sound condition, yes. For a corroded, cracked, or collapsed line, it isn't appropriate — which is exactly why we camera the line first. If the pipe can't safely take the pressure, we'll recommend the right repair instead of jetting it.
You can, but you'll keep paying for it. A drain that reclogs weeks after snaking has buildup — grease, scale, or roots — on the pipe wall that a snake can't remove. Hydro jetting clears that buildup so the line stays open, which usually costs less than repeated snaking over a year.
It depends on volume — a busy kitchen or a restaurant may need it every few months, a typical home far less often or only when buildup recurs. After jetting, we recommend a maintenance interval based on how fast your specific line actually builds up, so you avoid a surprise backup.
Cibolo Pro Plumbing
Licensed Texas plumbers (TX Master Plumber (TSBPE)) based in Cibolo, serving the Metrocom for 15+ years. Have a question about your home's plumbing? Call (831) 290-4327.
