Your sewer line is probably the one feature in your entire plumbing system with the most use, says GreaseCycle company. A large part, if not all, of the wastewater generated in your home passes through the sewer line. That includes greywater from sinks, showers, or appliances and blackwater from toilets.
At the same time, the sewer line is also the most abused system in your plumbing. We routinely dump stuff that should not be inside the sewer line into our drains. That is partially because most people wrongly assume that the sewer system is tough enough to handle anything.
On top of all these, most of your home’s sewer line is underground. As a result, it is not always easy to know when there is a problem with the sewer system. Consequently, many sewer line issues in the home go undetected until they become a plumbing emergency.
Considering the high cost of fixing a damaged sewer line and the disruptive nature of this problem, isn’t there a way to detect the issues in your sewer line before they blow out of control to cause costly repairs? Thankfully, there are many ways to do this.
7 early warning signs of a broken sewer line
Typically, this problem is caused by a clog in the pipe directly connected to the affected drain. However, if the problem returns after you fix it or multiple drains inside your home are slow at the same time, chances are that the problem is from the main sewer line.
If you smell sewage inside your home when you flush your toilet or between your house and the street, your sewer line is either clogged or leaking. Sewer gas within a blocked sewer line will back up until it exits your toilet. A leaky sewer line will also discharge sewage into the area around your home.
Depending on several factors, the contents of a broken sewer line can make their way to the soil surface. That will show up as perpetually wet or soggy patches in your lawn. You may also notice that a part of your lawn is greener than the surrounding areas for no apparent reason.
You may hear the sound of air bubbles forcing their way through the water every time you flush your toilet. That happens because a clog inside the sewer line prevents air from flowing out of the pipe. This trapped air is displaced by the water flowing into the pipe from your flushed toilet.
This is caused by air pressure imbalances in the sewer line due to clogs/blockages in the system. The movement in the toilet bowl is most visible when using appliances such as the washing machine. The air pressure inside a sewer line will be perfectly balanced without clogs.
A broken sewer line may cause a sinkhole or depression to appear in your yard. The broken pipe can undermine the stability of the soil by discharging water into the ground. As the soil deep beneath the surface becomes weak, the layers above will cave in, resulting in a sinkhole or depression.
Even when you don’t see the signs, animals can sense water leaking from your broken sewer line. A leaky sewer line can attract roaches, rats, raccoons, millipedes, centipedes, snakes, and other vermin to your property. Your pest problem could be due to your damaged sewer line.
What to do if your sewer line is damaged
Now that you know or suspect your sewer line is in trouble, what should you do next?
A professional plumber can send a camera into your sewer line to get the actual picture of the state of the pipes. This specialized camera will let the plumber know the cause of the problem, its extent, and the best solutions. It will also provide the location of the damaged pipe section with pinpoint accuracy.
If the camera shows that your sewer line is clogged and not broken, you will only need to clear the debris blocking the pipe. The two best options for removing buildup from a clogged sewer line are hydro-jetting and sewer rodding. That is because of the speed, effectiveness, and reliability of the two methods.
If the camera inspection shows that the sewer line is broken or badly corroded, you will have to repair or replace the broken sewer line section. Whether you should repair or replace the pipe and how best to do it depends on the details of the problem.
Finally, it is vital to remember the absolute necessity of working with an experienced professional plumber when trying to solve the problems in your sewer line. A reliable plumber will fix the current issues in your sewer line and help to prevent future ones.