Signs you need a sewer camera inspection. Before it backs up.

You don't need a sewer camera every time a sink runs slow. You do need one when the clues point past the fixture and into the main line, or when you're about to spend real money on a house, a remodel or a repair bid. Here are the signs we look for in Burbank, Glendale and San Fernando Valley homes, why older LA sewer lines are prone to them, and what to do about each one.

This guide is about when to book an inspection. If you already know you need one and want prices, read how much a sewer camera inspection costs in Los Angeles. If you want to know what the footage will look like, see what a sewer camera shows.

Why older LA homes are a special case

A big share of houses in Burbank, North Hollywood, Studio City, Van Nuys, Glendale and the rest of the Valley were built between the 1920s and the 1960s. Their sewer laterals, the private pipe that runs from the house to the city main under the street, were usually laid in vitrified clay: short sections joined every few feet. Clay itself lasts a long time, but those joints don't. Over decades the seals fail, ground movement and earthquakes shift the sections out of line, and roots find the gaps. Some homes from the 1940s to the 1970s have Orangeburg (tar-paper) pipe, which slowly flattens, and many mid-century houses have cast iron under the slab that scales and rusts from the inside. Our guide to clay, cast iron and Orangeburg pipe explains each one.

Add mature street trees, ficus and other thirsty landscaping, and you get the most common problem we see on camera in the Valley: roots growing into a clay joint. The City of Burbank's own SLURP FAQ notes that roots usually don't get into a lateral unless there's already an open joint or crack, which is exactly what a camera finds.

The other local wrinkle is ownership. In the City of Los Angeles, LA Sanitation says the property owner is responsible for the entire lateral, including the part under the sidewalk and street. Burbank's municipal code also puts the lateral on the owner. So the problem you can't see is still your problem, and the camera is the cheapest way to see it.

Signs inside the house

1. More than one drain is slow or backing up

One slow sink is usually a local clog in that fixture's drain. When the tub, the shower and a toilet all drain slowly, or water comes up in the tub when you flush, the blockage is downstream of where those lines meet, which usually means the main line. Clearing it without looking only treats the symptom.

2. The lowest drain backs up first

Sewage or dirty water rising in a ground-floor shower, a floor drain or a laundry standpipe when the washing machine empties is a classic main-line sign. Water takes the easiest way out, and the lowest opening is where a blocked main shows itself. If it's happening right now, start with our main sewer line backup guide.

3. Gurgling toilets and bubbling drains

A toilet that gurgles when the tub drains, or a sink that bubbles when the washer runs, means air is being pushed through the system by water that can't get past a restriction. Sometimes it's a vent problem, but in older homes it's often a partial blockage or a sag in the line. See what gurgling drains mean.

4. The same clog keeps coming back

If you've had the main line snaked and it backs up again within a few months, something is catching debris: a root mass at a joint, a belly that holds water and sludge, an offset where one pipe section has dropped, or a break. A camera after cleaning shows which one, and that decides whether the answer is regular maintenance, hydro jetting or a spot repair. Our guide to why a drain keeps clogging covers the fixture-level causes.

5. Sewer smell with no obvious source

A sewer odor in a bathroom, under the house or in the garage can be a dry trap, but it can also be a cracked drain line letting gas escape. If refilling traps doesn't fix it, the camera can find where the pipe is open. Read sewer smell in the house for the quick checks first.

Signs outside the house

6. A soggy patch or extra-green strip in the yard

In a dry LA summer, a spot of lawn that stays wet or grows noticeably greener along the path of the sewer line can mean the pipe is leaking into the soil. Settling, a sunken trench line or a small sinkhole over the line are more serious versions of the same thing.

7. Water standing in the cleanout

If you open your outdoor cleanout and see water sitting in it, the line downstream is blocked or slow. Don't know where yours is? Here's how to find your sewer cleanout. If you don't have one, adding a cleanout makes every future cleaning and inspection easier.

8. Backups after heavy rain

If drains slow down or the cleanout fills every time it rains, groundwater may be getting into a cracked or separated pipe and filling it. That points to a defect a camera can locate.

Situations where you should inspect even without symptoms

9. You're buying a house

This is the big one. A standard home inspection usually doesn't put a camera into the sewer lateral, and the seller may not know the line's condition. A scope during your inspection period, on an older house especially, tells you whether you're buying a sound pipe or a repair. Our sewer inspection before buying a home checklist covers what to ask for, and our pre-purchase plumbing inspections page explains how we do it.

10. You're adding a bathroom, a remodel or an ADU

Garage conversions and ADUs are everywhere in LA now, and many tie new fixtures into an old lateral. Before you send more water down a 70-year-old clay pipe, it's worth knowing whether it can take it. The same goes for a kitchen or bathroom remodel where walls and floors will be open anyway. See remodel plumbing.

11. After a significant earthquake

Ground movement can crack clay pipe and pull joints apart without any immediate symptom. If you felt a strong quake and your home has an older lateral, a camera check is a sensible part of the follow-up. Our earthquake plumbing checklist covers the rest.

12. Someone quoted you a big sewer repair

Never approve a replacement, lining or pipe-bursting job without seeing the footage yourself. Ask for the video with a distance counter showing where each defect is. If a contractor won't show you, get a second inspection. Our page on trenchless vs. digging explains how the footage drives the choice. In Burbank, note that the city's SLURP FAQ says lining isn't permitted in the City right-of-way, though pipe bursting is.

13. You have large trees near the line, and it's been years

If you have a big tree near the sewer path and the line hasn't been looked at in years, a baseline inspection shows whether roots are getting in before they cause a backup. Burbank's SLURP FAQ notes that cleaning needs vary widely, from twice a year to once in ten years, depending on trees, depth and how the line was built. A camera tells you which end of that range you're on.

Quick checklist

What happens during the inspection

We start at your cleanout if you have one, or another access point if you don't. If the line is blocked, we clear it first, because a camera can't see past a clog and roots hide cracks. Then we run a waterproof camera on a push cable down the line to the city connection while you watch on the screen. A distance counter marks where each finding sits, and a locator above ground marks the spot and depth for anything that needs repair. You keep the recording and get the findings in writing. Rooter Pros gives free estimates on camera inspections, and we tell you the price before we start.

If the footage shows roots in otherwise sound pipe, the answer is usually cleaning and a maintenance schedule, not replacement. If it shows a break, collapse or Orangeburg that's flattening, we'll walk you through the repair options on our sewer line repair and replacement page, and you can take the video to anyone you like for a second opinion. Want the longer list of failure symptoms? See signs your sewer line is failing.

Local programs worth knowing

Burbank: the SLURP program offers single-family homes and duplexes a $150 sewer-charge credit when the lateral is cleaned and video-recorded to the public main, with the address shown on the video. Burbank also says that if a parkway tree's roots have crushed or misaligned your lateral, the city will reimburse repair of that portion, up to the limits in its fee schedule. City of Los Angeles: LA Sanitation runs a sewer lateral CCTV rebate. Check each program's current rules on burbankca.gov and sanitation.lacity.gov before you book.

Related: Sewer camera inspection · Sewer camera inspection cost · Drain cleaning · Hydro jetting · Sewer line repair & replacement · Broken sewer pipe symptoms · Serving Burbank, Glendale, North Hollywood, Studio City, Van Nuys & Los Angeles

Prices are typical published ranges for the Los Angeles area as of October 2026 and change over time. Your price depends on your home. Sources are linked in each table.