RicodJour wrote:
On Jun 5, 4:45 pm, "BetaB4" wrote:
bob haller wrote:

Why dig if the trouble is tree roots?

just buy some rock salt, mix with hot water in a washtub, and let it
go down the sewer. do before going to work for the day so it can sit
in the line. it will kill the roots buit not the tree, is cheap and
effective.

Thanks. I already have rock salt from this past winter so I'll do
that. It can't hurt. But I still may end up doing the video routine
one way or another so I can see for sure what's going on.

This begs the question, if the rock salt clears up the problem (I'm
giving 2:1 odds it will), how much are you willing to spend to satisfy
your curiosity?

I am not sure about that. I called the plumbing company that I usually use
and they said they don't actually do it themselves, they have an outside
company do it. They gave me the name of the company that they use, but it's
one of those deals where you call the guy and then he calls you back when he
can. I checked out that company's website and I'll probably call them
tomorrow morning and see what they say.

I am trying to get some general information here about my options and
whether there are any relatively inexpensive or creative ways to get a look
at the inside of the pipe on my own.

If the clog returns, my next step will probably be to ask the town if they
have the video equipment and if they will do a visual check of the main line
since they keep having to come out and clear whatever is causing the
blockage. But, if they say they can't or won't do that, then maybe I'll pay
someone to do it. If I could buy the equipment for a couple of hundred
bucks (which I now know I can't), I would probably just buy it and do it on
my own out of curiosity and because I could probaly use the same equipment
in the future. I know that doesn't exactly answer the question, but that's
the basic answer.

Now, what would really be cool would be if there was some computer techie of
doing this kind of like a home-made science experiment. For example, what
if I could buy some type of low-end video camera input device that I could
connect to my laptop computer, and then attach that and an LED light to the
end of the drain snake and take a look. I think that would be cool, but I
guess that's just a dream and not a realistic option even if it would just
be as an experiment.