An expensive issue to deal with at your home is a damaged sewer line. This is because the sewer line runs underground on your property and typically requires invasive digging to access the problem. By identifying sewer issues early on, you can greatly reduce your chance of experiencing a major problem.
Below, we’ll address some of the early signs of an issue so you know when to call us for sewer service to get to the bottom of it.
Experiencing Frequent Clogs
One of the biggest indicators of a problem with your sewer line is experiencing multiple clogs. If you’re noticing that various fixtures throughout your home seem to be experiencing repeated issues, there may be more involved than a single drainpipe. It’s best to seek out professional assistance to inspect your sewer line and remove any buildup before you experience complete blockage.
Problems With Slow Drainage
Another obvious indicator of a problem with your sewer line is very slow drainage throughout your home. If only one fixture is draining slowly, you may have a problem with that drain line. However, if all your fixtures seem to be draining a lot slower than they once did, it’s a key sign you likely have a blockage somewhere in your main sewer line.
Abnormal or Gurgling Noises
Whenever you flush your toilet or use your sink, air travels down your pipes along with the wastewater. Normally, that water will travel into the city’s sewer line. However, if there is a blockage in your individual sewer line, that air has nowhere to go.
Instead, it turns back around and heads back up to the closest surface it can find. This is typically the fixture that you used. You’ll hear a gurgling noise after you flush the toilet or once you’re done draining your sink. Clogs can also lead to abnormal noises in your plumbing system.
Foul Sewage Odor
Another indicator of a plumbing problem is a foul smell in your home. This persistent smell of sewage or rotten eggs will be most prominent near your drains and toilets. If you have a leak in your sewer line that’s allowing wastewater to seep into the local soil, you may even experience that foul odor when you’re standing outside where your sewer line is.
Soggy Yard Patches
One less obvious indicator of a sewer issue is soggy patches on your lawn. These areas will develop where your sewer line runs, and damage is present. You may notice the area is overly wet or growing lusciously compared to the rest of your lawn. This is the natural wastewater seeping into the local soil and acting like a fast-acting fertilizer.
Foundation or Slab Cracks
Because your sewer line runs underneath your home’s foundation, any leak that it has can affect the integrity of your foundation. If you have a sewer line leak, it will lead to issues like soil erosion that will cause your foundation to naturally shift in the ground. This can lead to cracking of the slab or the foundation. It’s vital to have any cracks in your foundation or slab assessed quickly to prevent issues with the structural integrity of your home.
Increased Pest Activity
Pests are a great indicator of an underlying plumbing problem. They’re naturally attracted to the wet wastewater. You may notice flies accumulating around the drains in your home, or you may notice other pests like rodents or roaches around the area of your sewer line. It’s best to remedy this situation as quickly as possible to minimize any damage to your home and any growth in the pest population.
Getting a Professional Inspection
When you first notice any of these early warning signs of an issue with your sewer line, it’s best to schedule an inspection with one of our plumbing professionals. This is where we’ll use specialized video equipment attached to a flexible cord that we send down your main sewer line.
This will allow us to thoroughly evaluate the line for any blockages, openings, and even collapses. When we’re able to thoroughly assess your entire sewer line, we can make a recommendation on how to properly move forward to remedy the issue.
Hydro Jetting Service
If you have a blockage in one of your drain lines, using a traditional drain snake may be all that’s needed to clear out the blockage. However, when you’re dealing with a clog in your main sewer line or recurring clogs, hydro jetting is one of the best services to use. This specialized technique uses high-pressure water to effectively remove any debris buildup on the inside of your piping.
By removing this debris, we can clear up issues like routine clogs and slow drainage. Hydro jetting can also be used to bust up hard tree roots to remove them from your sewer line. This service is great for handling issues with all pipes that are still structurally sound. However, it doesn’t work for piping that’s partially collapsed or extremely deteriorated.
Sewer Line Repair and Replacement
Sometimes after performing a camera inspection of your sewer line, we may discover issues with a particular section that will require repairs. There may also be the need for an entire line to be replaced if it is deteriorating. Regardless of the issue that you’re having, we can effectively work to replace or repair the existing sewer line.
It’s vital to repair or replace a faulty sewer line promptly because allowing wastewater to seep into the local soil can be very dangerous. This holds especially true if you have a well on your property. When wastewater seeps into the soil, it’s not actively broken down enough before it reaches the local groundwater supply.
This can allow harmful bacteria to penetrate the local water supply and render it unsafe for consumption. This can create significant problems for those in rural communities that rely on local groundwater for their homes’ drinking water.
The Importance of Routine Maintenance
One of the best things you can do to help minimize your risk of experiencing a sewer issue is to schedule routine maintenance service from a local plumber. We recommend getting hydro jetting service at least once a year to remove any debris build-up inside your sewer line. Additionally, during this service, we’ll do a video inspection of your line to identify any cracks or other issues that may need to be repaired.
By catching these issues as early as possible, we can work to repair them before major damage happens to your sewer line, which will require an entire line replacement. This preventative maintenance service is great for giving you peace of mind and is exceedingly helpful for planning for future sewer line replacement. We try to help you understand how much longer your sewer line will likely last so that you can be financially prepared for the replacement process and do it at a time that’s most convenient for your schedule.
Expert Sewer Line Repair Service
DeWolfe Plumbing, Heating & Cooling offers expert sewer line repair service for the Yarmouth, MA area. We can also assist with all your drain snaking, drain cleaning, camera inspection, and sewer line replacement needs.
Give us a call today to book your next sewer service appointment in Yarmouth.
