Yes. This is an inspection using a camera on the end of long cable designed to be inserted into the main sewer line of the home. It’s designed to find any defect issues in the underground sewer lateral between the home and the street. This is an area YOU CANNOT SEE and during a normal home inspection, this is not visible. The cable can run about 200 feet so you can inspect all the way to the street.
The question many times is,” won’t my inspector be able to determine if there is an issue just by running water and if there is a clog it will manifest during the inspection”. This is not the case. Many sewer lines area about 4” in diameter and can run 50+ feet to the main sewer. If there is a clog or restriction, it will take a lot of water to fill up this pipe before you have any indication. The home inspection does not run enough water to determine this. In addition, there can be blockages that allow for slow drainage but are still restrictions. We have seen blocked pipes with roots, broken and collapsed piping, bells in the pipe (low areas in the pipe that do not drain) etc. Repairs can be costly if unknown e.g. $2000 + dollars, not to mention the yard disruptions that can occur.