Sewer Cleaning Company employs a new repair technology that doesn’t involve tearing up your front yard—no-dig sewer repair

By Mitch Allen

In the past 20 years with Mimi Magazine, I have written more than 1,000 stories about local businesses, and in all that time I have never used the word “amazing.” I consider it a hyperbole, an exaggeration.

After all, something isn’t “amazing” unless it actually engenders “amazement.”

Well, after speaking last week with Anthony Peto, founder of Northeast Ohio’s Sewer Cleaning Company, I indeed experienced amazement, that eye-widening, jaw-dropping sense of wonder often accompanied by the expression:

“Wait. What? You can do that?”

What we were talking about isn’t related to artificial intelligence or some innovative non-invasive robotic surgery, it’s simply a high-tech method of repairing a sewer without digging up your front yard. Okay, in a way, it is innovative non-invasive robotic surgery, but for your sewer pipes, not your arteries.

Before we get to how this high-tech method works, let’s take a step back and look at what’s beneath us.

What’s Under Your Feet?
We rarely think about it, but a lot is going on beneath the ground we are walking on. Under our feet is an ingenious feat of civil engineering, including water lines, gas lines, phone lines, fiber-optic cables delivering high-speed internet, and, in some neighborhoods, underground power lines. And everywhere we are, you’ll also find two different sewer systems: 1) storm sewers, which prevent neighborhood flooding by carrying rainwater directly to nearby lakes and rivers, and 2) sanitation sewers, which carry wastewater from our bathtubs, showers, sinks, dishwashers, washing machines and, uh…toilets. This separate sewer system leads directly to water treatment plants where raw sewage is treated before entering the natural environment. The result, thankfully, is healthy fish and bald eagle nests instead of, well, lifeless stench.

Without sanitation sewers, we’d return to the 1800s. Every home in the suburbs would have an outhouse, and folks in the city would go back to emptying their chamber pots out their windows onto the sidewalks

Hey, nobody wants that.

The Problem with Pipes
“The problem with sanitation sewers, especially those associated with older homes on Cleveland’s beautiful tree-lined streets, is that the aging pipes are not made of PVC,” explains Anthony. “Instead, they are terracotta, cast iron, or galvanized, so they can crack and decay, allowing them to be invaded by tree roots. This causes clogs, further pipe damage, and sewer backups into your home.”

Uh, yuck.

Traditionally, roots and other clogs are removed with “snakes” (cutter heads attached to long steel cables), but Anthony’s company also employs a high-tech water-jet system. “Our hydro-jet technology flushes the entire pipe clean and doesn’t leave a debris field like a traditional snake,” he explains.

Unfortunately, if your sewer line is significantly damaged, complete replacement is required, and—until now—that has been a big, ugly job, including busting up your basement floor, destroying your flowerbeds, and digging a trench in your front yard, which requires lawn and landscaping repair.

“The process is messy, time-consuming, and can be very expensive,” Anthony adds. “Plus, many homes in Cleveland’s inner suburbs have large front porches, and if the sewer line runs under the porch, the porch has to be partially torn down to create access to the sewer line—then rebuilt.”

But not anymore.

A New, High-Tech Solution
“We don’t have to do all that anymore,” Anthony explains. “Now we use trenchless repair, also known as no-dig repair, pipe lining, or CIPP, ‘cured-in-place-pipe’ lining.”

That’s right. Anthony’s company is one of the few companies in Northeast Ohio that can line your existing pipe, giving it the structural integrity of Schedule 35 PVC (strong stuff), which is accompanied by a 50-year transferrable warranty.

Here, in a nutshell, is the process:

The team at Sewer Cleaning Company uses a video-scope to visually inspect your sewer line for clogs, roots, and damage. “Think of it as a colonoscopy for your sewer line,” Anthony says, sounding more like a gastroenterologist than a sewer dude. “But instead of looking for polyps or diverticulosis, we’re looking for cracks that allow tree roots to enter and cause backups and major damage.”

The team then uses a high-powered hydro-jet system to remove any roots or other clogs. If no significant pipe damage is found, the team packs up and leaves, and you are good to go. If there is significant damage requiring replacement (but no full collapse), they will likely suggest the cured-in-place-pipe lining solution.

Here’s how that works:

Prepare to be Amazed!
“Our technicians further clean the sewer line, including sanding the inside of cast iron or galvanized pipes. Then we insert a flexible fabric [Note from Mimi: think of it as a stocking—not a knee-high or even a thigh-high, but a 100-foot-long stocking] followed by a special bladder that inflates inside the stocking, forcing it against the inside of the pipe wall where it adheres with an advanced adhesive.

“It’s kind of like balloon angioplasty, except of instead of opening a blocked artery we are opening your entire sewer line,” explains Anthony, sounding more like a cariologist than a sewer dude. “Then we insert a UV light which we slowly pull back, curing the interior pipe along the way much like a dentist employs a UV light to cure material used to repair your teeth.”

As a result, the long “stocking” is completely transformed into a flexible, low-friction material that resists heat, cold, oils and chemicals common to waste water—truly a “pipe within a pipe,” giving you that 50-year transferrable warranty. No more worrying about backed up sewage when house guests are visiting.

“And it all happens without damage to your landscaping, except a small area where we have to insert material,” Anthony says. “We can line almost any pipe that has not collapsed.”

If you’re interested in this no-hassle sewer line repair, it all starts with scheduling a free video-scoping of your sewer line by calling the company’s scheduler Kelley Wynn. She’ll find a time that is convenient for you, usually within three to five business days.

That’s right; it’s free.

Amazing or what?

Sewer Cleaning Company is headquartered in Chesterland, but servers all of Northeast Ohio. For more information or to schedule a service, call 440-290-6055 or visit SewerCleaningCompany.com and fill out the convenient contact form. The company typically offers same-day or next-day service.