Sewer Smoke Testing in Tucson
Sewer smoke testing in Tucson
No guessing, we're testing. We push smoke through your drain and vent lines and video every spot where it comes out, so we know where the system is open and where to look. Smoke tests start at $600 for the first 2 hours, then $200 an hour after that.
Why homeowners order a smoke test
Your drain and vent system is supposed to be sealed. Sewer gas stays in the pipes and leaves through the vents on the roof. When a pipe cracks, a joint pulls apart, a vent comes loose in a wall or an old drain is left open after a remodel, that gas comes into the house, and the smell is usually nowhere near the actual problem.
A smoke test makes the leak visible. Non-toxic smoke goes into the drain lines and shows where the system is open: a wall, a baseboard, a cabinet, the attic or the yard. We video every spot, so we know where to look and what to fix. When the break is hidden inside a wall or underground, a camera inspection confirms it.
When to book a smoke test
- Sewer smell in the house that won't go away
- A sewer odor that keeps coming back after cleaning, a new toilet seal or drain treatments
- A drain or vent line you think is cracked or disconnected inside a wall, in the attic or under the house
- Rats, mice or roaches showing up near drains, toilets or cleanouts. The openings that let sewer gas in let pests in too
- After a remodel, when fixtures were moved or removed and an old drain may have been left open
- Before you buy a home with an odor nobody can explain
What a smoke test turns up
- A cracked or broken vent pipe inside a wall
- A vent pipe that came apart in the attic
- An old drain left uncapped behind a wall or under a cabinet after a fixture was removed
- A failed seal under a toilet
- A missing or loose cleanout cap
- A broken sewer line under the yard
Smoke test or camera inspection?
They answer different questions, and we do both. A sewer camera inspection looks inside the line: roots, a sag, a broken or offset section, a blockage. It's the right tool when drains back up.
A smoke test shows where the system is open to the house or the yard. It's the right tool when the drains work but the house smells, or pests keep finding a way in. If the answer takes both, you get both from one company.
How we run a smoke test
We start with where and when: which room the smell shows up in, whether it follows a shower or a flush, and what has already been tried. The quick causes get checked first, like dry traps in drains nobody uses, a loose cleanout cap or a toilet that rocks on its seal.
Then we push smoke through a vent stack or a cleanout (sometimes both) and video every spot where it comes out, room by room, in the attic and outside. You see each spot on video, and it tells us where to look and what to fix. When the break itself is hidden, a camera inspection confirms it. Whether the fix is a new toilet seal or a cracked pipe inside a wall, we put the repair price in writing before any repair work starts.
Smoke test pricing
Starts at $600 for the first 2 hours, then $200 an hour after that.
That covers the test and video of every spot where smoke comes out. If the test turns up a repair, you get that price in writing before any repair work starts.
Buying a home?
A smell during a showing is easy to explain away and expensive to own. A smoke test, alongside a sewer scope and plumbing inspection, tells you whether the drain and vent system is sound before you close, so you negotiate from facts.
Smell sewer gas in the house? Let's find it.
Call or book online and tell us where you notice it. Smoke tests start at $600 for the first 2 hours, then $200 an hour after that. Any repair is priced in writing before work starts, and repairs carry our written warranty on parts and labor.
