What Does a Drain Camera Inspection Show?
A camera inspection is not a gimmick — it shows you exactly what is happening inside a pipe so you do not dig blindly. Here is what it reveals.
A drain camera is a waterproof camera on a push cable that travels through a pipe and sends a live video feed to a monitor. It is the diagnostic tool that turns a guess into a fact before any excavation.
What the camera can show
- Cracks and fractures in the pipe wall
- Root intrusion through joints or cracks
- A collapsed or partially collapsed section
- A bellied section where the pipe has sagged and collects water and sediment
- A separated joint, often where two pipe materials meet
- The build-up of grease, scale, or sediment along the pipe
- The exact location and depth of any of the above, via a surface locator
What it does not show
A camera shows the inside of the pipe, not the outside. It cannot tell you the condition of the soil around the pipe or whether the pipe is leaking outward — for that, a water test or excavation is needed. But for identifying what is happening inside the line and where, it is the right first step.
See our drain camera inspection page for when to get one.
Need this looked at?
If you recognise a problem described here on your own property, we can inspect and tell you what is actually going on.