Key Takeaways
Signs that your sewer line might be failing include:
- Multiple clogged drains in your home
- Foul smells coming from your drains
- Wet spots in your yard when it hasn’t been raining
- Patches of unusually green grass in your yard
- Dirty water backing up into your sinks or bathtub
If you notice any of these signs, your sewer line may need to be replaced, especially if it’s several decades old. Fortunately, the punctual plumbers at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing will be happy to assist you. Call us today to schedule a sewer line inspection or a sewer line replacement.
Why Sewer Line Issues Are Dangerous
Your sewer line is one of the most important elements of your home plumbing system. It’s responsible for removing waste from your home, so it needs to be kept in good shape. The problem is that it’s also buried deep underground, so it’s often out of sight and out of mind until you start seeing sewage coming up through your drains.
Sewer line issues are obviously inconvenient for everyone in your home, but they can also be dangerous. Not only can they cause water damage to your home when they’re allowed to go unchecked, but the raw sewage that can leak from a bad sewer line can spread diseases such as hepatitis A, salmonella, and E. coli infections.
If you suspect that you have an issue with your sewer line, you need to have it addressed as quickly as possible. Waiting for too long will put your home and family at risk, and the cost of repairs will only get higher. Fortunately, our punctual plumbers can help you with almost any sewer-related issue you might have in your home.
How A Main Sewer Line Works
Your home’s sewer line is a series of pipes that remove waste and wastewater from your home. When you flush anything down your toilet or wash it down your drain, it goes through these pipes and to either a sanitary sewer or a septic tank. If your home is in an urban or suburban area, your sewer line most likely drains to a sanitary sewer, which is a larger network of pipes that move wastewater to a treatment plant where it is purified and released back into the environment.
If you live in a rural area, your sewer line might be connected to a septic tank instead. This is essentially a large concrete tank that holds wastewater and solid waste. Solid waste that is flushed away either floats near the top of the tank and forms a scum layer or settles to the bottom to form a sludge layer. The wastewater itself drains out of the tank into a drainage field.
Older sewer lines may be made of clay or lead, but most modern lines are made of sturdier materials such as PVC or cast iron. Homes that may need a sewer line replacement usually have lines that are made from older material that may no longer hold up well enough for your sewer system to function properly.
The 15 Most Common Signs that Your Main Sewer Line May Be Failing
1. Multiple Drain Clogs
When your sewer line is damaged or blocked, it may create multiple drain clogs in your home. These are different from the clogs that might occur if you wash too much hair down your shower drain or put too much food waste in your sink.
Those only affect individual drains and can usually be cleared out without too much difficulty. Multiple drain clogs are usually caused by a blockage in your sewer line that prevents wastewater from draining properly.
2. Slow Drains in Every Room
Even if your drains aren’t hopelessly clogged, they might still be very slow. Again, this is a problem that affects all of your drains, not just one sink or shower.
3. Frequent Toilet Backups
Not surprisingly, a sewer line issue will likely affect your toilet before anything else. You might experience frequent toilet backups, especially if you have a toilet in a lower level of your home.
4. Gurgling or Bubbling Sounds
Sewer line issues can cause gas to get trapped in your home’s plumbing, which can cause your drains to make bubbling or gurgling sounds. For example, you might notice your toilet gurgling when your shower runs.
5. Sewer Smells Indoors or Outdoors
If your sewer line is backing up into your home’s drains, it will create a foul smell. You might also notice this smell outside if your sewer line is leaking sewage into the ground around it.
6. A Soggy or Flooded Lawn
Wet spots on your lawn are normal if it’s been raining, but if your lawn is unusually soggy or even flooded when it’s bright and sunny outside, your sewer line might be leaking wastewater into your backyard.
7. Bright Green or Lush Green Patches on Your Lawn
Sewage makes for an excellent fertilizer, so it will likely leave parts of your lawn looking greener and healthier than the rest of your yard if your sewer line is leaking.
8. Mold or Mildew Near Plumbing
Damaged or blocked sewer lines that cause wastewater to back up into your home can cause water damage in your home, especially near your plumbing fixtures. Look for water spots, mold, and mildew near your plumbing to see if this is the case in your home.
9. Rodents, Roaches, and Other Pests
Damaged sewer lines are excellent sources of water for rodents, insects, and other pests that might infest your property. These pests can get into your home and cause some serious problems on top of everything else related to your sewer issues.
10. Foundation Cracks or Sinkholes
When water leaks from an underground sewer line, it displaces the surrounding soil and can form potentially dangerous sinkholes. The shifting soil can also cause your home’s foundation to crack, so check your basement for any signs of that.
11. Unusually High Water Bills
Sewer line problems will almost certainly increase your water bill, especially if your line is connected to a metered wastewater system.
12. Old or Outdated Pipe Material
If your pipes are over 50 years old, they may be made from clay or cast iron, materials that may not be holding up after several decades. These materials can deteriorate and cause sewer line leaks. If you need to have your sewer line replaced, we will likely use a sturdier material such as PVC for your new line.
13. Tree Root Intrusion
If you have large trees on your property, their roots might intrude into your home’s sewer line. A leaky sewer line is a great source of water and nutrients for any large tree, so keep an eye out for invading tree roots in your home’s plumbing.
14. Soft, Sunken, or Smelly Areas in Your Yard
Displaced soil and leaking sewage might be noticeable in your yard, especially if your sewer problems have gotten out of hand. This is potentially dangerous, so make a note of any soft, sunken, or bad-smelling spots in your yard and keep pets and children away from them.
15. Visible Sewage Coming from Your Drains
We’ve mentioned sewage leaking into your home’s drains before, but it’s a serious issue that should be addressed immediately. If you see this, shut off your home’s water and call a plumber right away.
Causes of Sewer Line Failure
Sewer lines can fail for a number of reasons. Tree root invasions are common, as is shifting soil from freeze-thaw cycles. Older pipelines can also corrode and deteriorate over time, especially if they’re made from clay or cast iron.
Driving and parking heavy vehicles on your property over your sewer line can sometimes damage the pipeline as well. In some cases, the sewer line wasn’t installed properly in the first place and will fail sooner rather than later.
In any case, sewer line issues need to be addressed quickly if you want to avoid damage to your property. Ignoring a failing sewer line could cause health issues from raw sewage in and around your home, mold growth, structural issues in your home, and insurance denial if you wait too long to fix issues in your home.
How Pros Diagnose Sewer Line Damage
The most common method of diagnosing sewer line damage is a camera inspection. This is where we send a flexible camera down your drains to see if there are any obstructions or other issues.
Plumbers can also detect sewer line leaks with a sewer smoke test in which non-toxic smoke is sent into a sewer line to see if it leaks anywhere. We can also determine the integrity of a sewer line by applying air or water pressure to a section of the sewer line.
Sewer Line Replacement Options
Traditional trenching sewer line replacement involves digging a trench and replacing the damaged sewer line. This is a fairly long process that can cost between $4,000 and $11,500 depending on how much of the sewer line is replaced. It also does a lot of damage to the surrounding landscape, so it isn’t ideal if you want to preserve your yard.
In many cases, we can replace a sewer line without having to dig a trench. All we would need in a trenchless sewer line replacement project is access to the line itself. If there is minimal damage to your sewer line, we may only need to install a flexible liner into the existing line.
This liner contains a resin that cures into a new sewer line that should last between 50 and 100 years. If the line is damaged, we may need to burst the existing line before we install a new liner. A trenchless sewer line replacement can be completed in one or two days and generally costs between $3,000 and $6,000.
Prevention Tips: How to Extend the Life of Your Sewer Line
The easiest way to prevent damage to your sewer line is to be careful about what you flush or rinse down your drain. Never flush anything down your toilet aside from human waste and toilet paper, don’t pour cooking grease down your kitchen sink, and install a trap to your shower or bathtub drain to prevent too much hair and grease from going down your drain.
You can also schedule an inspection of your drains and sewer line at least once every three to five years, especially if you have a larger household, and keep a close eye on larger trees on your property.
FAQs
How do I know if my sewer line is collapsed?
A collapsed sewer line will have signs such as multiple clogged drains, slow drains, cracks in your foundation, and sinkholes in your backyard. If you suspect that you have a collapsed sewer line, a plumber can complete an inspection and find the source of the problem.
Can tree roots grow into PVC sewer pipes?
Yes, tree roots can grow into PVC pipe, especially if the pipe is damaged or if its joints aren’t sealed properly. PVC is sturdier than other pipe materials, but it isn’t indestructible.
Does homeowner insurance cover sewer line replacement?
Generally, most homeowner insurance policies do not cover sewer line replacement. You can sometimes add a service line coverage endorsement or a warranty to give yourself some protection, however.
How long does a main sewer line last?
A main sewer line usually lasts between 50 and 100 years. Modern materials such as PVC should last longer than clay, cast iron, and other materials that were commonplace years ago.
Don’t Let Your Home Go Down the Drain
If you suspect any sewer-related issues in your home, don’t hesitate to call Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. Our punctual plumbers provide sewer line replacement services to homes in Clearwater, FL and the surrounding areas, so contact us today if you have any questions or concerns about your home’s plumbing.