A cable pokes a hole. A jetter cleans the whole pipe.
You've probably had this drain snaked before. Maybe twice. It works for a while, then the slow drain comes back, and you start wondering if the last guy did something wrong. He probably didn't. Here's what's actually happening. A snake does exactly one thing, it punches a hole through the clog so water can get through. But everything coating the walls of that pipe, years of grease, soap, sludge, and mineral scale from some of the hardest water in California, is still in there, and the hole closes back up the way a bad habit comes back. That's not a bad plumber. That's the wrong tool for where your pipe is at.
Hydro jetting is the other tool. A high pressure stream of water scours the inside of the pipe wall, all the way around, all the way down, and takes the buildup off the walls instead of drilling through it. When it's done, the line isn't just unclogged, it's clean, about as close to new pipe as old pipe gets. It's the difference between shoving the mess in a closet and actually cleaning the room, and it's why the drain that got jetted stays quiet while the drain that got snaked keeps calling you back.
Is it always the answer? No, and nobody here will pretend it is. Sometimes a snake is genuinely all you need, and if that's your situation, that's what you'll hear. The technician looks at what's actually going on, tells you what he sees, and gives you his honest recommendation. Then you decide. That's the order it always goes in.
"You called, a person answered, and the problem got handled. That should be normal. With us, it is."
