If you notice any of the following signs, it may be time to call for a professional plumber. These 8 ways will help to determine whether or not your plumbing is broken and need service.
Symptoms Of A Broken Sewer Line
1. The Smell Of Sewer Gas
While it’s easy to dismiss or rationalize a weird odor emanating from your drains, these scents are frequently the most obvious symptom of a fractured drain pipe. When your home plumbing is in good operating condition, you should never notice an odor coming from your drains. If you do, you’ll need to investigate more to determine what’s causing the deadly sewage gas to enter your house.
2. Drains That Are Slow
A clog in the pipes that serve a specific sink, toilet, shower, or tub might cause a delayed drain. When more than one plumbing fixture in your home or business drains slowly, it might be due to a damaged sewage line that has split due to ground settling. It might, on the other hand, be due to tree roots infiltrating the sewage system and impeding the passage of the pipe.
3. Backups And Clogs
Clogs and backups in one part of your house that do not impact the whole system might be caused by a blockage in the pipe that supplies that fixture. However, if more than one drain is clogged and sewage is overflowing onto your flooring, you may be witnessing apparent signs of a ruptured sewer line. If you are unable to unclog your drains, a professional will be necessary to check your sewage lines and identify the best course of action to have your sewer lines running freely.
4. Grassy, Green Lawn
As strange as it may seem, lush places in your yard that are green, bright, and prospering while everything else around them goes brown are telltale symptoms of a burst sewage line. Your sewage line’s water and nutrients are wonderful fertilizers, but this form of irrigation is not suggested for long-term use. Toxins may accumulate in the soil over time and leak to the surface, particularly if the soil is disturbed.
5. A Wet Lawn
A damaged sewage line may make your grass damp and smell bad in addition to greening it. This may result in the formation of a sinkhole surrounding the break, rendering this part of your yard useless until the cracked sewage pipe repair is done. Insects and rodents will be attracted to the marshy conditions, and they may make their way into your house or surrounding businesses, possibly spreading filth and illness.
6. Insect And Rodent Infestations Are Common
An extraordinary rise in bug and rodent activity, on the other hand, might indicate a damaged sewage line. Rodents live in sewers and may squeeze through even the tiniest holes to get access to your house. Insects that can wiggle through a broken drain pipe and reproduce in stagnant water, enabling them to grow quickly, are the same. Both rats and insects may create health problems, thus they must be dealt with in addition to the sewage line breakdown.
7. Mold & Mildew
Wet stains on your ceilings, walls, or floors might indicate a broken water pipe or a collapsed sewage line. Water penetration from a sewage or water line, if left untreated, may quickly spread mold and mildew. These fungi’s spores may cause serious allergic responses, and their propensity to devour organic construction materials over time might harm your home’s interior, exterior, or foundation.
8. Wall Cracks and Broken Slabs
As buildings settle and the earth changes underneath them, fissures in the concrete slab and supporting walls are common. If your house is growing new cracks, it’s possible that a damaged sewage line is washing away the soil that supports the foundation. The condition is unlikely to improve over time if the fracture is caused by a leak.
The surrounding soil will be washed away by more water until the foundation can no longer sustain the weight of the building above. The home itself may fall in the worst-case situation. A comprehensive examination will reveal if you have a sewage line breakdown or another problem that is producing cracks in your house or business.
Repairing Leaks Quickly
When it comes to your home plumbing, the old adage “out of sight, out of mind” isn’t really wise. Hidden leaks, after all, may not only increase your water bill and cause substantial property damage, but they can also lead to hazardous health issues if left unattended. For all of these reasons, it’s important to find and fix leaks as soon as possible, particularly when it comes to sewage lines.
Sinks, tubs, and toilets that keep backing up and spewing nasty sewage water onto your flooring might be the result of anything more than a blocked sewer line. A damaged drain pipe in your house or yard might be the source of the issue; after all, a broken sewage line emits a number of obvious indications. When you know what to look for, you may easily identify and correct a sewage line issue.
You’ve Got A Sewer Pipe That’s Broken. So, What’s Next?
If you’ve had any of these issues with your house or business’s sewage system, you’ll need expert assistance. Clogs that impact all of your drains might be the result of a damaged sewer line, which would need the services of a professional to fix or replace. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) inspection of your sewage line may establish the position of the break and whether it can be fixed or whether the whole line has to be rebuilt.
A plumbing specialist can use trenchless sewer technology and will have the tools necessary to diagnose your problem and get it fixed quickly. Many jobs are finished in a day and unlike traditional methods of cracked sewer pipe repair and replacement, they can do the job and leave your lawn, landscaping, driveway, and sidewalks in place.
The “when is the city responsible for sewer lines” is a question that many people have. You can find out the answer in this article.
Once your sewer line is fixed, its time to turn you attention to your appliances. Learn more in 5 Washing Machines New Homeowners Should Buy.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you know if your sewer line is broken?
A: You can take a look at your sewer line with a flashlight. If it is not broken, you will see clear or white water going through the pipe.
What happens if a sewer pipe breaks?
A: Sewers are built to hold a lot of water, so if one were to break beneath an area that has heavy rain or snowfall, the water would just continue to flow through. The pipe itself can be repaired with a repair kit and/or replaced by professionals. If you live in a low-lying area near rivers and streams, this is more likely than not going to happen.
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