Tuesday, December 26, 2017

What is Hydro Jet?

Everybody has a plumbing issue every once in a while. But because it almost always has something to do with toilet and indicates the lacks of fundamental flushing-down skills, you rarely hear about your neighbors’ plumbing problems and reluctant to tell your own stories. When you notice a bad odor coming out of the toilet or that stuffs just refuse to go down the kitchen sink - or the other way around - you turn into the greatest personal assistance in the modern world: the Internet. In case of plumbing issue, however, this is where bad things tend to get worse. The plumbing problem in question is most likely sewer line clogging; as useful as the Internet can be in other aspects of life, it won’t help get rid of the clogging, a Hydro Jet machine will.

What is Hydro Jet
The recommended pose for a plumber when waiting the Hydro Jet to arrive
While it is tempting to try all the tricks and demonstrations provided by the Internet, a Do-It-Yourself mentality has questionable reputation when it comes to a clog in the drain pipe. There are two main reasons for this:
  • Periodic maintenance of plumbing connection is just too cumbersome and unhygienic for pretty people like you, so it is either ignoring the task completely or having the job done by professional; the former is an obvious choice.
  • The lack of timely checks allows small problem to develop into much larger one. Small clogging in the bathroom due to accumulation of toilet paper, which can be actually sorted out quite easily, grows into a total blockage inside the drain pipe. This problem grows more quickly if you visit the toilet often. Of course you can help delay the clogging issue if you avoid using toilet paper completely, but this is not a proper method to get rid of the blockage – it is not recommended, using your in-law’s toilet is more acceptable in fact.

One of the most common tools used by professional plumber is a hydro jet machine. By professional, it refers to the kind of plumber that you have to contact by phone to tell your problems. In some cases, you may have to send inquiry by email and wait for several minutes to get an automated reply. If you can call the plumber by shouting out loud, chances are the plumber does not have the proper equipment to get the job done; the most sophisticated tools your neighbor possibly brings are spanner and hammer.

Components of Hydro Jet

A Hydro Jet is a modified version of power washer, so it is basically the same thing you use to wash your car and garage floor. Both even share more or less the same components as follows:

  • Water Inlet: it is hose that connects the machine to a water supply. The water needs to be clean to prevent damages to the machinery, so the hose is also attached with a filter. A Hydro Jet is designed to get rid of clogging, and it would be shameful if the machine itself is clogged due to debris from the water supply.

  • Motor: because the name is Hydro Jet machine, there needs to be a motor inside. If it does not have a motor, you might as well call it a broken hydro jet. Smaller models are often powered by electricity, while larger more powerful models run on more conventional fuel such as gasoline.

  • Water Pump: the most important part of the machine is water pump. Basic principle of mechanism is similar to that of hand-operated or manual groundwater pump. Main difference is that the pump in a hydro jet is operated by gas engine or electric motor at high speed. As a result, the machine can take 20 gallons of water or more. Without the motor, you will need a strong hand, a lot of horses, or Hulk to make the machine works.

  • Heavy-duty hose: a hydro jet machine can deliver water at more than 5,000 psi. Your garden hose doesn’t have the power to handle that much of power. Recommended safety margin is that the hose must be three times as powerful, so 5,000 psi requires a hose than can handle 15,000 psi.

  • Specialized Nozzle: at the end of the heavy-duty hose, there is a specialized nozzle designed to deliver water in specific directions such as forward, forward and backward, all directions, and more. There are many different types of nozzles, so plumbers have something to play with on the job.

The water released through the nozzle is powerful enough to scrape some skin off your body. Larger machines can take more water and deliver higher pressure, but you will not need such machine to get rid of a blockage in your sewer line; you may need one to put off fire in a forest.

The biggest advantage of using hydro jet machine to remove clogging is that no one needs to be in close proximity to the toilet or the drain pipe. It is therefore more hygienic, comfortable, and relaxing. Second biggest benefit is that the pressure from water can clean an entire stretch of the pipe rather than just the clogging. It gets rid of the blockage and prevents the pipe from getting clogged again in the near future. Also, there is no need to use detergent or any form of chemicals, which can potentially corrode metal pipe or melt plastic one.