For comfortable living, a household must have its skeletal frame intact.
A sewer line leak causes slow drains, clogs, and increases utility bills. Leaking sewer pipes that lead to flooding, extensive water damage, mold growth, and mildew are dangerous to your home and health.
It would be best if you didn’t wait too long to repair leaky sewer pipes.
What Does A Sewer Line Leak In Your Yard Mean?
Depending on the buildout of your home’s foundation, your pipe lining may have instabilities that cause one pipe bursting to affect your entire sewer system.
The main sewer line of your house is typically outside. It is connected to the city’s sewage system. A sewage leak in your yard entails there is a leaky sewer pipe near your main sewer line.
If the leak isn’t from your main sewage line itself, then the ones leading out of your home and into your main line. Behind leaky sewer pipes are clogs, backs-ups, and other blockages.
Luckily, reliable sewer repair professionals can easily deal with sewer leaks, busted pipes, and other issues related to the plumbing system of your house.
We will let you in on a few trade secrets you can execute on your own and which one alarming tell-tale symptom should have you calling for the professionals immediately.
Getting to Know Your Sewer Pipes
Let’s talk about your plumbing system. Most, if not all, structures should have one built into their foundation.
You might think your sewage system only deals with sewer lines facilitating the water flow of your sewage. However, sewer lines deal with all the wastewater produced by your household.
All your drain pipes are connected to one main sewer line at the bottom of the barrel. It is the last mile sewage travels before exiting your house and entering the city’s main line.
Yes. Your sewer line is connected to the city’s or country’s sewage because septic waste is considered hazardous, and hazardous waste requires proper disposal.
Incorrectly disposing of sewage which can carry harmful chemicals, unwanted pests, and other contaminants can be toxic for the occupants of your house and environment.
Plumbing Pitfalls
Trust us when we say,
“If you smell sewer gas odor coming from anywhere in your house, even your bathroom, you should immediately seek professional help.”
The smell and the risks it poses to your health and your house will not go away on its own.
Not only is this an indication that your pipes don’t drain properly, but that there may be several underlying issues that are causing sewer leaks, which include but are not limited to:
- Foundation cracks
- Sewage backups
- Air pockets in your drain
- Damaged sewer pipe
- Sewer line leak
- A pipe bursting
- Slow drain
Repairs can easily remedy some of those listed above, such as paper towels being thrown down your drain and causing a sewage backup.
However, if you carefully examine warning signs, you might notice your sewage acts up for various reasons.
Poor ventilation can bring air pockets that cause slow drain syndrome. Insufficient ventilation may cause your pipes to pull air from elsewhere to facilitate proper water flow better.
You will not want sewer lines comingling air or water with the rest of your water supply.
What is a Hidden Problem Most Homeowners Don’t Know Causes the Plumbing Issues of Their House?
While there are many, many issues and even more underlying ones that cause plumbing problems, one significant problem nearly every homeowner commits without knowing it continues to slip right under their noses.
BUT WHAT IS IT?!
If you have no clue what stumps nearly all of us all the time, the one word you need to know is:
NEGLIGENCE.
That’s right. Our negligence often causes minor issues to balloon into bigger ones. Neglecting your plumbing responsibilities, such as routine maintenance and tune-ups, may be behind all your problems.
You might pay the price later if you neglect to pay attention to a prominent sign such as a foul odor or toilet bowl gurgling.
Neglect also comes in the form of laying down a new pipe carelessly. Not knowing enough about your pipes can play a major role in later encounters.
Before you lay down a new pipe to replace an old one, get to know what pipes make up your sewer system.
Kinds of Sewer Pipes
There are, count them, seven types of sewer pipes.
They may serve the same primary purpose but deliver on it differently. The material pipes are made of arguably plays a role in their performance and maintenance.
The seven types of sewer pipes
- PVC Pipes (ABS Sewer Pipe)
- Cast-Iron Pipes
- Clay Pipes
- Concrete Pipes
- Orangeburg Pipes
- Copper Pipes
- Galvanized Metal Pipes (Zinc)
The most common drain pipes in houses built after 1989 are plastic ones.
PVC pipes are more affordable and manageable for installation, repairs, and replacements.
The only real downfall for plastic pipes is they are more susceptible to punctures and abrasions.
It isn’t easy to puncture PVC plastic, but they are easier to damage than metal ones.
Galvanized pipes are designed to be more resistant to rust, lasting longer than your average pipes. T
hey are more expensive, but their rust-resistant pipe lining is awfully handy.
Cast-iron pipes aren’t a new pipe by any means. In fact, most houses feature iron plumbing fixtures. However, they were replaced by clay and PVC pipes for practical purposes.
Clay pipe lining may be great theoretically. Still, they aren’t as efficient or longer-lasting than metal installations.
They are flame-retardant and resistant to rust but crack under pressure much faster than other materials.
Copper makes the “best sewer pipes,” and many plumbers agree when it comes to that. They are incredibly durable, flexible to fit various designs, fight off heat the best, and take up less space for faster draining.
However, its many benefits come at a price, a FULL price. Copper pipes are some of the most expensive options in the market, but their promise of longevity makes a great exchange.
Which is the best pipe for my sewer system?
You can take your pick from those listed above. You can see the areas in which they differ, where they sink and rise.
However, the typical trade-off seems to be their price point. How much are you willing to pay for your pipes?
Pro-tip:
Spend a little extra on your pipes now. It’s a prudent choice to make in ensuring your home’s foundation is a fortified one.
Still, don’t forget to keep up with their maintenance.
It won’t matter how expensive or well your pipes are laid down. What matters is how well do you care for each pipe?
Are they cleaned regularly? Are they maintained routinely?
How much water flow do they deal with every day, and is it equivalent to the number of check-ups and tune-ups they get yearly?
How to Know if You Are Dealing with a Broken Sewer Line
Leaky sewer pipes are an obvious sign.
There might be a sewer leak if there are punctures and abrasions anywhere in your pipe lining. A pipe bursting can either result from leaking sewer lines or cause it.
You should have your drain line, main sewage line, and septic tank inspected by a professional plumbing company you can trust.
An inspection can be as simple as executing a camera inspection.
A CCTV Sewer Camera Inspection involves visual equipment sent down your drain line. It collects footage of your pipes for plumbers to review later.
One with a live feed can help plumbers examine your pipes in real-time and deal with any issues on the spot.
Who knows? They might just find a blockade of toilet paper, paper towels, soap scum, and other typical clogs they can get rid of immediately.
A damaged sewer line, however, needs a proper assessment.
The inspector you enlist for this job needs special skills and can identify a hidden problem immediately.
Time is of the essence when it comes to your sewer lines, and a leaking sewer pipe can quickly snowball into the worst problems over time.
When to Call for Professional Help for a Broken Sewer Pipe
If a pipe bursting isn’t enough to catch your attention, have a licensed plumber come in for a camera inspection or CCTV Sewer Camera Inspection so you can find out the root cause of whatever is bothering your plumbing system.
Fundamental problems are harder to deal with, but the sooner you get to rectifying them, the faster you can answer the call of nature in peace.
Remember that your sewer lines are durable, but their maintenance needs are delicate. If you miss out on one routine tune-up, it is only a matter of time before your main sewer line is affected.
Plumbing Companies You Can Call for Reliable Sewer Repair
If you live anywhere in Melbourne, Florida, and need a reliable plumbing company, we have just the guys for you!
Mac 5 Services provides clients with a Leak Detection Servicethat can help you uncover and repair known and unknown problems. With our team’s honesty, transparency, and friendly customs, we can help you get through it stress-free.
Mac 5 Services
Visit our website and book an appointment online for all plumbing installations, repairs, upgrades, replacements, and routine maintenance needs!
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