The past year has made spending time with people that you love fairly difficult. But now that restrictions are slowly loosening, visiting people for Thanksgiving or the holidays is possible again. Regardless if it’s a tearful return home or a slow nod of acknowledgment, nothing will ruin a moment more than a nasty scent from a sewer system breakdown.
It’s best to spot a sewer line malfunction during the earlier stages. At the start of the breakdown process, the damage tends to be relatively small, and you can call a plumbing company that can perform efficient sewer repairs or replacements.
Here are some signs that might indicate that your sewer line has been compromised.
Drains Are Acting Up
Do your drains empty water slower than usual? Is the plunger your best friend these days? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, you might be looking at a mainline blockage.
What to Do: Call a plumber to check your home pipes. They can unclog the system and offer options to prevent further system breakdown.
What Not to Do: Use an entire bottle of liquid drain cleaner to try to unclog the drain. Drain cleaners are toxic chemicals that can do serious damage to your health. Plus, too much liquid cleaner in the pipes can warp and deteriorate them. You’re not helping solve the problem. Unfortunately, you’re making it worse.
The Pipes Are Gurgling
Plumbing backups happen because the wastewater can’t flow down to the sewers because of a blockage. Since the water can’t go down, the only way it can go is up.
Aside from water bubbling back up the drain, hearing gurgling sounds when you use more than one faucet and water coming back up from the toilet after flushing are signs that your pipes are backed up.
What to Do: Contact a plumbing specialist. They will identify the problem, take care of it, and provide helpful suggestions to prevent it from happening again.
What Not to Do: DIY the plumbing issue. You think you’re saving a lot of money by doing it yourself. Addressing the plumbing issue without any knowledge or training can cause more damage than good. Save yourself and your pocketbook from the frustration, don’t do it yourself.
Lawn Is Unevenly Lush
If your lawn looks more lush and green in some areas compared to other sites, you might have a compromised sewer line in your hands. Although the wastewater has become your lawn’s fertilizer supplier, it poses numerous problems in the future.
What to Do: Get in touch with a sewer pipe repair expert.
What Not to Do: Leave the situation as it is. You may think that the free fertilizer is a good thing—but it’s not. Eventually, the wastewater will start to pool, and that’s not doing your lawn any favors.
Pests Come to Play
It’s a misconception that pests are attracted to nasty-smelling places. In reality, most insects are drawn towards humidity. A compromised sewer pipe can boost the moisture in a home with an added foul odor down the line.
What to Do: Before deciding to call for pest control or plumbing services, you might want to check your walls, floors, and ceilings. If you discover wet spots on your ceiling or mold on a damp patch of drywall, you might want to reach out to a plumber.
What Not to Do: Assume it’s only a pest issue and spray plenty of bug repellent instead.
Conclusion
You can stop significant plumbing issues if you spot them during the earlier stages. However, the best way to prevent plumbing problems is to let plumbing professionals perform routine maintenance on your pipes.
Candu Plumbing & Rooter is a reputable plumbing company in San Fernando Valley, CA, that offers exceptional sewer pipe repairs, plumbing remodels, and other plumbing services. Whether it’s a simple pipe repair job or a major line replacement project, you can expect that we can do it. Contact us today for a free estimate!
