A cracked pipe is more troublesome than you think.
Cracks in pipes can cause a broken sewer line, leading to more expenses and time-consuming repairs. It can result in many problems for your household plumbing and run up your utility bills.
If you encounter any of the symptoms below, keep reading to find DIY solutions for minor issues and what you should do in case of more significant concerns.
What Should I Look for To Find Cracks on Sewer Pipes?
If you notice slow draining, backflow, overflowing, or gurgling sounds from your sink, toilet, shower, garden hose, or anywhere linked to drain lines, you might need to inspect your sewer system for a broken sewer pipe.
In a house with sewer line issues left untreated for prolonged periods, you might suffer from pipe bursting and other costly sewer line damage. Some signs of a broken sewer pipe are:
- Slow drain
- Foul smell
- Leaks
- Inexplicable water damage
These symptoms and underlying issues need repairs immediately before causing any further damage. To avoid property damage and health risks, you need to find your sewer lines and their one or two access points.
Where Are Your Sewer Pipes?
Before digging around your yard, you should look into the internal piping system of your house to begin a sewer line repair.
A plumber will tell you a broken pipe isn’t always buried under the soil outside. You’ll find plenty of plumbing pipes in your basement or utility room. In comparison, contractors may build some lines into walls, crawl spaces between floors, or in the foundation of your house.
Once you locate your sewer lines, look for their cleanout to extract blockages and dislodge any clogs. While you can clean your pipe linings instead, a broken sewer line can easily be patched or replaced.
If your home is fitted with older piping, it’s best to check each old pipe’s structural integrity. Older models have cast iron pipes, while homes built after the ’90s often have plastic or PVC pipes. If you aren’t sure what to do next, you should contact a professional for plumbing maintenance or relining.
How Much Does It Cost To Fix a Cracked Sewer Pipe?
The cost of repairing pipes depends on the job. Whether it’s relining, replacing, unclogging, flushing out, inspecting, or repairing plumbing systems, they should be your top priority, no matter their affordability.
Plumbing concerns like a damaged pipe are a frequently reported issue, and in case you’re wondering, no, homeowners insurance doesn’t typically cover the cost of these home repairs.
Luckily, there are less invasive plumbing installations that are less painful to repair or replace in events of damage. Additionally, trenchless technology drains linked by plastic pipes suffer less from root invasion.
It takes less time to carry out trenchless sewer repair, and their installation is even less time-consuming.
Trenchless pipe lining is less susceptible to invasions from tree roots, which lead to a damaged sewer line. Trenchless sewer repair costs less and won’t tear up your yard. Plumbers can easily access your trenchless pipe lining for preventative maintenance, epoxy cures for cracks, repairs, and replacing a sewer line with an uncontrollable leak.
If an existing pipe bursting with sewage is in a trench, you need to call for a sewer line replacement.
What’s the Difference Between Sewer Line Replacement & Trenchless Sewer Repair?
Leaks from the cracks of a trenchless pipe lining are an easy fix, especially with epoxy. Your yard has more chances of staying intact with minimal digging required to access your home’s plumbing system.
Trenchless pipe lining makes great workarounds for a yard abundant with tree roots underneath, even against a concrete slab topping. Trenchless technology isn’t as difficult of an integration.
Deeper excavations, digging, and uprooting may all be necessary for sewer line repair or replacement. Repairing a small leak in a pipe attached to a sewer line embedded in trenches can be more costly. The cost might run twice as much with the amount of yard work that goes into its execution.
A broken sewer pipe can be more grueling to repair. Sometimes, the cost, time, and aftereffects can be major deterrents for homeowners who need to repair their home’s sewer line damage. It isn’t prudent to put off sewer repair. It will cost you more later, with added damage on top of cracked pipes and flooding.
Your garden won’t benefit from hazardous wastewater running rampant underground either. Sewer pipes are essential in disposing of sewage correctly.
Backed-up pipes can affect your home’s drains and lead to hazardous backflow or toxic gasses evaporating into your home’s living spaces and other parts. Methane is a prominent, dangerous gas produced through the decomposition of human waste.
Imagine a cracked pipe leading to slower drains and backing up your toilets. With more waste clogging your drains, waste lingers in your plumbing system longer than it should and decomposes in your home’s pipes.
These health risks are dangerous and should be looked into by professionals. Ensure your sewer lines are routinely maintained to protect your health and safety.
Where Can I Access My Sewer Lines?
As of 2012, cleanouts are legally required by building codes nationwide. They serve as an access point for professionals to tap into your home’s main sewer line. Even if you have a septic tank, it may have a cleanout. It provides plumbers and technicians more strategic access to clean and unclog pipes efficiently.
A sewer pipe might have multiple access points, but you can find at least one point inside your home. If there’s a blockage in your sewer pipe, you can remedy the problem by dismantling its cleanout and extracting particles that may be clogging your system.
What Should You Do in Case of Clogs & Blockages?
A cleanout may be helpful, but only with the right tools and knowledge. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you might end up causing more problems. Do not attempt to dislodge clogs from your sewer pipe with makeshift tools.
A crack in your sewer pipe means it’s already of questionable integrity. If you push and prod too hard, your broken sewer pipe might burst.
If you know how to dislodge the square nut of a cleanout, do so carefully to facilitate the unclogging. However, if you’re unsure, you can choose a less taxing solution to resolve minor clogs.
Non-Toxic Homemade Solution
If there’s a clog in your sewer pipe, instead of attempting to snake your toilet to pick out toilet paper, mix two everyday items you might have in your kitchen to create a harmless yet powerful compound.
If you have baking soda and vinegar, you’re all set. Mix one part baking soda and two parts vinegar, typically adding up to a cup and a half. Pour this down the drain of your kitchen sink, bathroom sink, shower drain, and toilets.
Let it sit for 10 minutes before flushing it down with hot water. The hot water should dislodge any scum or surrounding larger particles and be enough to help it go through your sewer pipe faster.
It might also break down bio-degradable material clogging your sewer lines. It’s an easy fix that may cost less, if any money at all.
How Do You Maintain Your Home’s Sewer Lines?
Remember, there are home remedies you can use to fight clogs that can lead to a broken sewer pipe.
However, nothing beats professional routine maintenance. Don’t worry about the cost of minor repairs and routine maintenance; if it’s done efficiently, it should save you more money in the long run.
When Is It Time To Call a Professional?
Call a plumber if you have a leak that leads to extensive water damage, mold, and mildew.
Professionals can help you determine the source or cause of leaks, locate cleanouts, distinguish your plumbing fixtures, and inspect each pipe for the kind of repair it might need.
Who Should You Call for Sewer Line Repair?
If you have pipe troubles and live in Melbourne, Florida, schedule an appointment today with Mac 5 Services for sewer line installation or sewer line repair.
Why Choose Mac 5 Services?
Mac 5 Services is a prominent company with knowledgeable technicians who can flush away all your broken sewer pipe troubles.
We also help you patch broken sewer fixtures and conduct preventative maintenance to avoid other common problems annually. Request service from us to fix your broken sewer pipe today.
Schedule Your Appointment
Request a list of our services to find out what we can do for you today.
Contact our team at (321) 244-7500 for immediate concerns.
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- Plumbing drains
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