One sewer line backup is enough to make most homeowners hope they never see sewage again. Between the awful smells, the disgusting waste products, and the water damage a sewage line backup is one of the worst plumbing emergencies you can have. Even with the help of a good plumbing service in Cleveland, TN, no one wants to deal with one again.
So, if you are dealing with sewer lines that repeatedly backup it is only reasonable to assume you are quite frustrated. Sewage lines that backup frequently require frequent plumbing service which makes your problem costly and extremely offensive.
One time can be a fluke, but if your sewage lines continue to back up, its time to talk to Metro Plumbing, Heating and Air a bit more in-depth to figure out why. sometimes it may be something you are doing, while other times it may be something like tree roots causing the same problem to reoccur. Until you get to the bottom of the problem, you will find yourself on a first name basis with a plumbing service in Cleveland, TN.
Common Reasons Your Sewer Lines Continue to Backup
Damages to Your Sewer Line
All it takes is one hole or crack in your sewer line to cause continual backups. Damage to a sewer line is the second most popular cause of frequent backups following clogs. If your sewer line is cracked or has a hole then rocks and dirt can easily get into the actual line. This causes a blockage that gets harder and harder until the wastewater has nowhere to go but back towards your home.
A quick snake may clear the dirt or rock, but if you don’t fix the sewer line it is just going to fall back in until it becomes another blockage. This is why it is so important to have diagnostic services performed by a plumbing service. A quick camera scope can determine if the sewer line has damage that is causing your blockage so that you can fix the problem and quit paying to clear blockages.
Clogs
Clogs are the number one reason that a sewer line backs up, and also one of the number one reasons that people end up calling a plumbing service in Cleveland, TN at all. There are certain habits that can lead to clogs, and if you don’t stop the habit you will just deal with more clogs again.
Things like ‘flushable’ wipes, oil, hair, grease, and drain cleaner can actually cause clogs. Despite what the name may imply on many ‘flushable’ products, they are usually bad news for your plumbing. Most plumbing services will be quick to tell you never to flush anything down the toilet but toilet paper. A skilled plumber may go as far as to tell you to only use rough toilet paper, because the soft stuff is also terrible for your pipes.
While it may be hard to change a habit, the good news is all you have to do is stop flushing things down the toilet that may be causing clogs (or putting it down your drains) and the clogs should stop. If your children are the culprits, you may want to think about installing drain catches in your kids bathrooms and the kitchen to help stop unwanted items from slipping down the drain.
Tree Roots Growing Into Your Piping
If you have an older home, there is a good chance that you have very well-rooted shrubs or trees as part of your landscaping. This can make your yard look stunning, but it can also cause problems with your sewer line. Roots that are growing close to a sewer line can actually cause the cracks and holes mentioned above.
They can also push on the line eventually causing misalignments that lead to blockages. If the line starts to leak, the roots will be fed nutrients through the soil. As a result, the roots will actually start to grow toward the line and even into the cracks creating even bigger issues. A plumbing service in Cleveland, TN needs to troubleshoot this problem quickly because it will only get worse.
The roots can damage the pipes cumulatively over time and even if you remove the roots that are blocking the pipes, they can quickly grow back. Roots in a sewer line create a very complicated situation, which is why you need an experienced plumber to help you deal with them. Otherwise, you can be sure that your sewer will be backing up again.
Broken Sewer Line
Finally, it is possible that your sewer line is not damaged, instead it may be completely broken. There are half a dozen reasons why sewer lines break such as corrosion, natural aging, to shifting soil. Regardless of what causes the actual break to occur, you will have backups over and over if you don’t fix the sewer line.
Diagnose the Cause with a Sewer Line Inspection
The only way to get to the root of your sewer line issues in Cleveland, TN is by calling a reputable plumbing service and asking for a sewer line inspection. This inspection allows a plumber to get a close look at what is actually happening inside of the sewer line.
It also gives the plumber a look at the overall condition of the line which can be very useful to you as a homeowner. Even if the sewer line is not yet broken, it is helpful to know how corroded it is and if there are any damaged spots. This allows you to take a proactive approach to your sewer line repair before you are dealing with backups weekly.
The sewer line inspection will also identify what part of the line is experiencing the blockage, so that the plumbing service can correctly troubleshoot and fix your problem. This will give you piece of mind and the assurance that you will not be seeing your sewage again any time soon.
