Hydro Jetting in Pfafftown, NC

Is my Pfafftown home on public sewer?

It depends on the address. Pfafftown is an unincorporated community west of Muddy Creek, and large parts of it were annexed into Winston-Salem and Lewisville, much of that in 2006. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities provides sewer where its lines run, but other homes are not on municipal sewer and drain to a private onsite wastewater system. Your utility bill is the quickest way to tell: a sewer charge means public sewer.

The difference matters for jetting. On public sewer, loosened debris washes down to the main. On a private system it ends up in the tank, so a plumber keeps pressure and water volume moderate and will want to rule out a full tank or wet drainfield first.

Will jetting work on an older line?

Pfafftown's housing is a mix of older rural homes and newer subdivisions. About a third of homes in the 27040 ZIP were built before 1980. Those older houses can have clay or cast iron in the ground. Jetting handles both when the pipe is intact, but a camera inspection first is worth it to confirm there's no crack, collapse or badly offset joint. Newer subdivision homes are generally on plastic pipe, which takes jetting without trouble.

Why does my drain keep clogging after it's been snaked?

A cable opens a narrow channel through a clog but leaves much of the grease, scale or root growth stuck to the pipe wall. That coating catches the next load of paper and food within weeks. Jetting scrubs the entire circumference of the pipe, so the line returns to something close to its full diameter. If clogs keep coming back even after jetting, the pipe itself may be the problem, such as a sag that holds water or a joint letting roots in, and a camera will show it.

A local note

Whether your part of Pfafftown is inside Winston-Salem, Lewisville or unincorporated Forsyth County, plumbing permits for any repair found during an inspection go through the joint Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Inspections Division. Simple cleaning of an existing line generally doesn't require one. If your home also has a private well, mention it when you call; it doesn't change the jetting, but a plumber digging near the drain line will want to know where the water line runs.