You might think you don't have to worry too much about your home's sewer line since it's under the ground and protected. However, sewer problems are fairly common. They can be caused by clogs or pipe damage. Here's a look at common causes of sewer problems and the type of sewer repairs you might need to have done.
Ways Sewers Are Damaged
Tree roots can invade your sewer line, crack it open, and cause the pipe to collapse and leak. If you have a clay sewer pipe, you might break it when you start digging in your backyard to plant a tree. A hard strike with a shovel can cause a clay pipe to crack and break apart. Old metal pipes can corrode and leak due to falling apart with rust.
Sewer pipes might also be cracked during an earthquake when the ground moves. They might be crushed if you drive a heavy truck over the top of the ground. When a sewer line cracks, collapses, or is crushed, sewage leaks in your yard, necessitating quick sewer repairs.
Issues That Cause Sewer Clogs
A common cause of clogged sewer lines is impacted tree roots. If your sewer pipe has a gap at a joint or a crack, tree roots can grow through the opening and eventually fill the pipe and clog it. Roots are drawn to the pipe due to the water it carries.
Besides roots, clogs can develop due to paper, grease, soap scum, hard water scale, corrosion, and flushing things down drains that should be thrown in the trash instead. Also, since one end of the sewer line is open and connected to the city's sewer line, animals might crawl into your home's sewer pipe and create clogs with their nests or bodies.
Repairs For A Damaged Or Clogged Sewer Line
There are two main types of sewer repair. One is trenchless, and the other involves digging up the old pipe. Digging up the old pipe might be done to replace it or to patch the damaged area. Trenchless repairs involve pulling a liner through the damaged pipe. The liner hardens and forms a new pipe that replaces the old one.
Before deciding on the way to do the sewer repairs, your plumber may start with a video inspection of the sewer to verify the problem and assess the condition of the pipe. Then, the right approach can be chosen for repairing your sewer drain to keep it from leaking.
Clogged sewer lines can be flushed out with a hydro jet or cleared with a drain auger tool. Water jets are popular because they not only clear the clog, they also wash the sides of the pipe to get rid of buildup and get the entire pipe clean. Hydro jets and drain augers can clear clogs from roots, paper, and anything else, so your plumber can use the tool of their choice to do the job.
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