The inspection camera is one of the most important tools in our arsenal of plumbing tools. It’s one of the first pieces of gear we put in the vehicle whenever we get called out to deal with clogged drain lines.
It’s also one of the first pieces of gear we load up before we perform a plumbing inspection on a home someone is interested in buying.
It’s extremely versatile both as a diagnostic tool and a preventative tool.
The ability to be able to look all along the length of a pipe from the inside and see what kind of shape it’s in – whether it needs to be replaced, or whether it will soon need to be replaced, helps homebuyers make important decisions on what sort of offer they make on a particular home.
Diagnostic Tools
The inspection camera has come to be invaluable in diagnosing a blockage. With blockages in drains and pipes, it helps us pinpoint the exact place along the line where the blockage is occurring and it’s extremely helpful in figuring out how to clear the line of the blockage.
The camera also helps us find narrowing of pipes due to build-ups of silt and minerals, intrusion into a pipe caused by tree roots and weaknesses or cracks in the pipe or drain that have developed and need to be dealt with.
Preventative Tools
Preventative tools are one of the most common applications we use the plumbing inspection cameras for and they serve the customers well in saving them money over the long run.
As a preventative tool, it can save a prospective buyer from investing in a home that is about to suffer a series of failures in its plumbing system. It can also enable a buyer to deduct enough money from their offer to cover the cost of removing a root from an otherwise healthy sewer line on a home that’s offered for sale and which the buyer is still interested in purchasing.
Getting this pertinent information visually, so it can be shown to the sellers of the home, gives the prospective home buyers leverage in negotiating a purchase price that’s equitable to everyone.
