Pipe inspection cameras are one of the most resourceful home maintenance tools.
This innovative equipment provides real-time data of a drainpipe’s condition, enabling plumbing technicians to accurately diagnose and promptly repair plumbing issues. They’re equipped with high-resolution cameras that allow maintenance technicians to visualize faults in a plumbing system easily.
But with high-end pipe inspection cameras fetching upwards of $6,000, is this equipment truly worth the investment?
The short answer is yes, and this article will explain why.
What Is A Pipe Inspection Camera?
Pipe inspection cameras, as the name implies, are specialized cameras used by maintenance technicians to visually inspect the interior of plumbing lines. The tools are also known as sewer cameras or CCTV drain cameras.
While designs may vary, most pipe inspection cameras consist of a high-definition camera attached to a long and flexible cord. The cable allows the tool to navigate deep and winding pipes, providing real-time video footage or still images of the plumbing condition.
Due to poor visibility in plumbing lines, most pipe inspection cameras also feature LED lights.
Using a quality pipe inspection camera enables maintenance guys to easily pinpoint issues with your home’s plumbing systems. Although the tools are commonly used to probe sewer lines and drain channels, they may also help to diagnose problems with water pipes.
With a CCTV drain camera, plumbing contractors can quickly detect what’s blocking your property’s drains. The equipment may also help to identify cracks and corrosion in your home’s plumbing installations. Their high-definition cameras (coupled with built-in LED lights) can pick up the tiniest issues, enabling you to arrange preventive repairs.
Evolution of Pipe Inspection Cameras
Before the innovation of pipe inspection cameras, plumbers mostly relied on guesswork to diagnose pipe issues. Some had to undertake deep excavations, which often proved costly and needless.
The concept of modern pipe inspection cameras emerged around the early 1960s. It was inspired by the need to rehabilitate concrete infrastructure damaged during World War II, including railroad bridges and commercial buildings.
Penetryn Systems is credited for developing the first sewer line inspection cameras, setting the stage for the mass production of these innovative tools.
Why Use Pipe Inspection Cameras for Home Maintenance?
- Enhanced Accuracy and Precision
Pipe inspection cameras enable maintenance technicians to diagnose plumbing issues with 100% accuracy. As the saying goes, the camera never lies.
Using the attached cable, a CCTV drain camera can navigate deeper into a drainpipe and uncover what’s ailing your plumbing system. Whether it’s debris blocking the sewer line or cracks causing persistent water leaks, you can trust the tool to detect the actual problem.
Pipe inspection cameras eliminate the guesswork many plumbers deploy while diagnosing plumbing issues, ensuring a targeted approach to the diagnosed problem.
- Non-Invasiveness
You contact a plumber to fix a backflow in your kitchen sink. The technician casually inspects the sink and determines that there’s a blockage in a section of the drainpipe that’s buried deep underneath your home’s foundation.
But after hours of excavation, it emerged that the issue was due to vegetable peels that had accumulated only a few inches from the sink.
Pipe inspection cameras can avoid such costly mistakes. The tools provide a non-invasive approach to inspecting plumbing systems, preventing unnecessary excavations.
This preserves your property’s structural integrity while also minimizing plumbing maintenance costs.
- Time- and Cost-efficiency
CCTV drain cameras accelerate plumbing inspections, saving you a great deal of time.
A maintenance technician doesn’t need to dig deep to uncover the real issue with your plumbing system. Rather than waste hours in needless excavations, the contractor only needs to run the cable through the problematic pipes for quick and accurate diagnosis.
Not only does this minimize downtime. It also reduces the overall plumbing maintenance costs.
According to Angie’s List, the average sewer line camera inspection cost ranges from $270 to $1,734. That’s relatively low compared to the excavation costs.
- Fostering Detailed Inspections
When enlisted to repair plumbing systems, most maintenance contractors focus on fixing the actual problem.
However, a single blockage in a pipe could be due to multiple underlying factors besides debris accumulation.
With sewer cameras, maintenance guys don’t only need to target immediate problems. The cameras are equipped with cords as long as 300+ feet, enabling the technicians to probe a pipe’s entire length and breadth.
CCTV camera inspections provide a more detailed overview of your plumbing system’s overall health.
- Encouraging Preventive Maintenance
Plumbing systems can be quite costly to repair or replace. Therefore, undertaking preventive maintenance is the surest way to manage associated costs.
Pipe inspection cameras aren’t just resourceful in diagnosing existing problems with your drains. They could also help to detect early warning signs of danger, allowing you to implement preventive maintenance.
During your routine plumbing maintenance, insist on the contractor using sewer cameras to probe the interior of all critical drains and water arteries in your home.
Enhancing Plumbing Repairs With Pipe Inspection Cameras
Pipe inspection cameras ensure accurate probing of plumbing issues, shortening the repair time. Although these cameras come with a hefty price tag, their ability to diagnose drain pipe problems with high precision can save you the costs of unnecessary excavations.
However, no two pipe inspection cameras are made equal. When shopping for this equipment, focus on salient features like high image resolution and adequate lighting. The cable should also be reasonably long and flexible, ensuring seamless navigation through deep and twisty drain pipe sections.
