When your home's waste water plumbing is working well, it's easy to take it for granted, but a clogged sewer line soon becomes a problem. The cause of the blockage could be tree roots, which sometimes invade sewer lines and block them, or if a line is old, a gradual buildup of solid particles may eventually clog it. Another cause of a blocked line is the bad habit of pouring grease down the sink or any other household drain. If a blockage isn't cleared quickly, waste water can back up into the home, creating a smelly mess.
If you spot any of these signs, your sewer line may be clogged.
- A foul odor is coming from your shower, bathtub, sink or toilet. That bad smell is sewage that hasn't drained because the line is clogged.
- Multiple household drains are slow. All household drains connect to the sewer line that leads either to the municipal sewer system or a septic tank. When you have a clogged sewer line, all or most of your drains are affected.
- The water level in your toilet rises or lowers for no reason. Changes in water pressure when the waste water doesn't drain affect the home's drains, and you can see this effect in the toilet water.
- Water flowing through one drain can cause gurgling in another household drain. For instance, when you flush the toilet, water gurgles in the sink or shower drain, or you run your washing machine and the toilet gurgles.
- Water flows up or out of the sewer line clean out. The sewer clean out is a covered, upright pipe that plumbers use to clear a clogged sewer line. If water is coming up from the clean out, that means it can't drain and the line is blocked.
Waste water is a health hazard, and you may make the problem worse if you try to tackle a blocked sewer line by yourself. Clearing a clogged line is a job for a professional plumbing contractor. He or she can clear the blockage and identify what caused it, so that you can avoid the same problem reoccurring in the future. What's more, a qualified plumber can replace an old, broken, leaking pipe with a new one that's less likely to clog. If you think you have noticed signs of a clogged sewer line in your home, ask a qualified plumber to check it for you.
For answers to your questions, contact the Pink Plumber today.
