Have you ever come home or wake up to realize your drains have backed up? Maybe it’s been years since you had your drains checked, perhaps you suspected an issue, or you were expecting something bad to happen any day. The truth is that the day for a sewer line inspection and repair will inevitably come. It’s the time when most drains will probably need replacing or at least repairing to make the indoor plumbing functioning again.

Here’s everything you need to know about the sewer lines in your house.

How To Know If Your Sewage System Is Backed Up

Indoor Floods

So of course the sewage system never backs up when you want them to. Normally what we experience is that you’ll be turning on the dishwasher or washing machine or upstairs taking a shower. If you’re upstairs or elsewhere and one’s around it can get to be a problem of not noticing, because sewers do back up at the lowest point in your home.

So if you’re unlucky that could be potentially flooding into a bathtub or most of the time flooding into the lowest drain, which might be your floor.

Foul Smell

Usually any drain in the home can produce a bad smell, not just the toilet. Any uncommon smells are a sign also, this bad smell can come before you have any type of backup, unfortunately, in some situations, it does happen quickly.

Slow Drains

When there’s more than one drain backing up in the home that’s a sign that an issue is going on. It’s going to be a huge sign that you’re gonna be having a potential main drain blockage. It’s usually going to start with one drain and then spread to others.

Water Damage

If you’re having water coming up from underneath something, it’s a huge sign that there’s either natural water or sewer problems as most of the drains used cast iron systems back in the day.

If you ever used a cast iron pan and left it in the sink, it quickly corrodes. So imagine old pipes made of cast iron that are carrying water for decades that start to fail. These lead to water damage in the home and if you can detect it, can be signs of a much larger issue than just a mop and bucket.

Toilet Bubbling

The number one thing is that you’re going to start having issues with your drains, potentially bubbling in the toilet. It is potentially caused by a blocked pipe in the mainline causing negative air pressure in the pipe.

A professional plumber, such as us, can determine whether the bubbling toilet is caused by water mainline issues, but you may also notice other signs around your home.

Types Of Pipes For Regular Maintenance And Inspecting

It’s all going to depend on what we see on the initial Sewer Scope. What comes during the sewer line camera inspection will determine a lot of what we decide. Unfortunately, we don’t have X-ray vision.

We always offer a free one time camera inspection to any first time customer using Smith. With that camera, we can determine the strength of your lines and suggest a time period to set cleanings and inspections in the future.

How To Maintain Sewer Line Properly And Avoid Costly Replacements

Install A Sewer Line Cleanout

So the best way to do any sort of maintenance to your drainage system is to install a set of standard two-way sewer cleanouts, those will provide easier access so we don’t have to come into the home and inconvenience the entire family.

Schedule Regular Inspections and Cleaning

We like to suggest we do our annual sewer line cleaning and line inspection down the drain to make sure that you stay on top of it and without issues. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have any sewer problems. We send a camera down or a snake down once a year before those problems develop.

Determine Whether You Have Roots In The Sewer

Clients will often say, “I took the trees out five years ago, I’m not sure why this is still happening”. Roots tend to grow straight down and unless you’re ripping out every root in your yard and actually getting to the real problem, they’ll still keep growing and potentially disrupt your lines. See what Bob Vila has to say about trees and sewers.

Do NOT Put Stuff On Your Drains Carelessly

Homeowners put things down the drain that really don’t belong there. A properly constructed drainage or sewage system should never have a problem. The only thing you should really try to avoid would be any sort of debris into the bathtub. Hair is gonna be the biggest potential issue here. So after shaving, just run extra water with the shaving cream or whatever else makes its way down the drain.

There are twists and turns in the pipe. But running more water might help you. The more water and the more maintenance that you do on the system will help prevent that kind of clogs.

Start With A Proper Inspection

Lifespan Of Typical Residential Drainage System

Any home before 1982, the plumbing system is gonna be what we consider obsolete material, which is we don’t typically use that for installations. What you’ll see in homes before is cast iron piping. You’ll also see galvanized steel and lead piping for your above-ground drains, which is a crazy idea.

How To Inspect A Drain Pipe

We always recommend that you do a drain cleaning first, even if it’s not backing up. The reason why we want to do that is that we want to get the drain as clean as possible in case there’s any sort of backup or debris in any system.

The second step would be getting a camera down the line so we can see exactly the true integrity of the pipes. And then, once we determine if there’s any fault in the pipe or maybe even a pipe bursting, we will offer those repair/replacements options, so the homeowner can choose what they’d like to do from there.

Smith Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical

When you need a main water line replacement, our professionals at Smith make it easy. Whether you notice wet spots on your lawn, a decrease in water pressure, or any strange plumbing issues, we are the ones to call.

We guarantee 100% customer satisfaction with all of the work we perform. Our integrity is the backbone of our business. You can rely on us for quality work.

Top-Tiered Option For Replacement Solutions

We offer many tiered solutions for your home needs. Premium solutions that ensure you will never have a plumber out at your house again. Also, lesser main sewer line replacement cost options where you are looking for value and savings when it comes time to replace a sewer.

Serving Colorado Springs Since 1974

Smith Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical – drain and sewer services.

In our community, we make sure to drive pink trucks to showcase our brand, so we definitely want to serve our community in the best way possible. Don’t waste time searching in Google for “sewer line replacement near me”, you’ve probably seen us around, just dial us or visit our homepage.

Contact Smith Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical for your home’s plumbing services.

We offer professional plumbing services in the following locations:

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