In your home, all the drain pipes lead to one place: the sewer line. This line carries all your wastewater away from your home and toward the municipal sewer line or your septic tank. While a clog in a single drain in your home can be a hassle, a clog in your sewer line can cause massive problems.
To avoid a disaster—like sewage backing up into your tubs and sinks—it’s important to catch sewer line problems early. How can you tell if you have a sewer line problem and need a plumber to clean it out? Here are the warning signs.
Slow Drains
Before things get stopped up completely, they tend to slow down. A partial clog somewhere deep in the system may be the cause if you have multiple slow drains in the home. It may also be that gradual buildup of things like mineral scaling, kitchen grease, or soap scum has narrowed the space in your drain pipes, preventing water from getting through.
Clogged Drains
If you’ve just got one clogged drain, the problem is likely close to that fixture and can be resolved with a plunger (use a clean new one for sinks and showers!) or a drain snake. If that doesn’t solve it, a plumber can help with a more powerful snake in that specific drain. Don’t use chemicals, which are hazardous to both your health and the well-being of your plumbing.
If you’ve got clogs that just keep coming back, or clogs in multiple drains at the same time, the real problem is probably deeper down in your drain pipes or sewage line. At this point, skip the plunger and make an appointment for sewer line cleaning.
Odors
Lingering odors wafting up from your drains can indicate that organic matter is caught somewhere in the plumbing. The decomposition of that matter can make an awful smell, and it could clog the system completely if left unresolved.
The other possible cause of drain odor is sewer gas wafting up because of a blocked or damaged vent. This is hazardous to breathe and can cause serious health problems. It needs to be addressed right away by a qualified plumber in Kerrville, TX.
Gurgling
Gurgling noises or bubbles coming up from a submerged drain can also be a sign of either a partial clog or a sewer vent problem. Either way, do not ignore this sound, especially if it’s accompanied by unpleasant smells.
Backing Up
If running the water in one place causes a backup in another, that’s because it’s unable to drain properly. So if using the washing machine makes water come up your bathtub drain, get help right away—before you end up with a sink full of sewage.
Water in Your Yard
The sewage line leads away from your home and probably passes underneath your grass. If that grass is especially vibrant and fast-growing in a certain spot, if there are soggy areas of standing water, or if you can smell sewage in your yard, your sewer pipe may be leaking. If it can’t drain properly, that wastewater has to go somewhere, and it may end up spreading through your lawn.
You should never put up with foul odors, inconvenient clogs, health hazards, and the risk of a massive, disgusting problem like backed-up sewage. When you notice these early warning signs, get plumbing help right away.
Contact D’Spain Sales & Service to talk to a member of our team.
