Kamloops and the Thompson Valley
High pressure steam flushing in Kamloops
A cable punches a hole through the blockage. Water at pressure takes the blockage off the wall of the pipe and carries it away. That difference is the whole reason this truck exists.
- Homeowners with a repeat blockage
- Property managers
- Strata councils
- Commercial kitchens
- Industrial lines
What it actually does
Grease, soap fat, sludge and fine root hair build up as a layer on the inside wall of a pipe. A drain cable bores through the middle of that layer. The line runs again, the customer is happy, and the layer is still there, so the next blockage forms in the same place at roughly the same rate.
High pressure flushing works the other way around. Water is driven through a nozzle that pulls itself up the line and drives jets backwards against the pipe wall, cutting the build-up loose and pushing it back to the access point with the flow. What comes out is the material that was narrowing the pipe, not just a core sample of it.
The practical test is simple. If a line has been cabled more than once and keeps coming back, cabling is not solving it.
Where it is the right call
Not every drain needs it, and a good drain company will say so. These are the situations where flushing earns its place.
Repeat blockages
The same line backs up every few months. Something is still on the wall.
Grease lines
Restaurant, cafeteria and commercial kitchen waste lines coat themselves quickly and cable poorly.
Fine root intrusion
After the roots are cut, flushing takes out the debris and the fibrous mat left behind.
Before a camera run
You cannot inspect a pipe wall you cannot see. Flushing first makes the inspection worth doing.
Scheduled maintenance
A line flushed on a schedule does not get the chance to reach the point of backing up.
Residential, commercial and industrial
The truck is lettered for all three, and the work genuinely differs. A house has one main line and a short run to the property line. A commercial building has grease, longer runs and a tenant who cannot close for the day. An industrial line has whatever the process puts into it, and often no drawings of where it goes.
Line locating and camera work usually come with the flushing on the second two, because on a building nobody has mapped, finding the line is half the job.
Common questions
Is high pressure flushing safe for older pipe?
It depends on the pipe, which is why the camera matters. Sound cast iron, clay, concrete and modern plastic all take flushing. A line that is already cracked, offset or collapsed needs to be seen before anything is driven down it, and that is what the inspection is for.
How is this different from hydro jetting?
They are the same family of work. Hydro jetting is the common North American term for high pressure water cleaning of a drain line. A Groess Underground has used the steam flushing name for years, and the truck is lettered High Pressure Flushing.
Will it fix a collapsed pipe?
No. Flushing cleans a pipe that is still a pipe. If the line is collapsed, offset at a joint or crushed, the camera will show it and the answer is a repair, not a cleaning. Being told that honestly is cheaper than being flushed twice.
How often should a line be flushed?
It depends entirely on what goes down it. A quiet residential main might never need it. A busy commercial kitchen line can want it on a set schedule. The camera tells you where you are on that scale.
Where this work happens
Kamloops, Chase, Barriere, Cache Creek, Shuswap, Merritt and all points in between.
Related work
Sewer camera inspection
A camera on a push rod runs the length of the line and shows you what is actually in there. Guessing about a buried pipe is how people end up paying for the wrong repair.
Root cutting
Roots do not break into a sound pipe. They find a joint or a crack that is already leaking and grow toward the water. Cutting them is the treatment. Finding why they got in is the cure.
Preventive sewer maintenance
Every emergency call-out is a maintenance job that was left too long. This is the calm version of the same work, booked at a time that suits the building.
Get in touch
Talk to the person doing the work
Call 250-377-5364 and describe what the line is doing. Most of the time that conversation settles whether this is the right service before anyone books a truck.
Emergency service call-outs available 24/7. If it is backing up right now, call rather than emailing.
Ask for a quote
Call and tell us what the line is doing and where the property is. Prefer email? Send the details and a photo if you have one.
Email office@agroessunderground.ca
Sewage in the building right now? Call, any hour.