Our Mesa & Queen Creek Plumbing Experts at Angry Pipe solutions are called out due to sewage emergencies every week. We want to educate our customers on how to identify a problem with their home sewage pipes before an issue becomes more costly and dangerous than it needs to be.
When you notice a clog in one of your drains, your first instinct is probably to grab a plunger. Unfortunately, if your sewage pipe is clogged or broken, a plunger is going to be useless. A clogged or broken sewage line can cause toxic flooding and severe plumbing problems throughout your home.
Identifying a problem with your sewage line before it becomes a catastrophic problem is imperative as a homeowner.
Is My Main Sewage Line Damaged or Clogged?
Your East Valley home’s plumbing system is made up of inlet lines that deliver fresh water to your home and drain lines that carry wastewater out of your home. These drain lines all lead to the main sewage line. This large pipe leads your home’s waste straight to the sewer or septic system. When this line gets clogged or damaged, it can lead to big problems. Wastewater can start backing up out of the drains of your bathtub & shower, creating a foul, potentially toxic odor.
Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to a damaged or clogged sewer line. Typically these lines are buried deep underground and require specialized equipment to locate. Although we do not recommend your attempting to DIY this project on your own, we have a few tips for you to utilize to keep things from getting out of hand before a Licensed plumber from our team can get to you.
Clogged Sewer Line Causes
It takes a lot to clog a sewer line. Most sewage lines in the East Valley have a diameter of 4-6 inches. A clogged sewer line is a sign that something has gone seriously wrong within your home’s plumbing system. Most clogs are caused by damage to the sewer line itself. If the pipe bends, cracks, or collapses it makes it difficult to impossible for waste to flow out properly.
One of the most common problems we see is a sagging sewer line. Over time, as the earth settles and shifts, sewer lines can start to sag. This sag creates a bend and a low point for waste to accumulate – causing a blockage.
Tree roots are another mischievous culprit in clogged and damaged sewer lines. Trees have powerful roots that have no problem penetrating your sewage line and wreaking havoc on your home’s plumbing.
We feel like we have advised on this more times than we can count, but so-called flushable wipes, paper towels, cooking fat, and other bulky items that should never be poured down your drains or flushed down your toilet are often the cause of a backed-up sewage line.
Top Signs You Have a Block in Your Sewage Line
Clogs to your sewage line don’t just happen overnight. They begin gradually. Being able to spot the signs early will help you address the problem before your yard or home is flooded with toxic wastewater. Here are some things to look out for:
Water Backing up in Showers or Tubs
A sure-fire sign of a sewage line problem is water backing up in your shower or tub drains. If your main sewage line is clogged, wastewater will back up as it has nowhere to go. This will cause the wastewater to move backward, generally, this will appear in a shower, tub, or floor drain of a basement.
The water will be off-colored and will have a sulfur smell to it. Please realize this is raw sewage and can be toxic. Keep children and pets away from it.
Slow-Moving Drains
If you are noticing your drains taking longer than normal to drain, or that water is pooling in your sinks rather than flowing out, you may have a clog in your sewage system. As we mentioned, most sewage clogs don’t happen overnight. If you’re noticing any issues with the way your drains are operating – we recommend calling our team of top-rated Mesa & East Valley Plumbers ASAP.
Strange Plumbing Sounds
A main sewer line clog can cause some strange sounds to come from your pipes. When water from a sink or shower tries to drain, water and air can form bubbles that make a gurgling sound throughout your home’s plumbing system.
Water Stops Draining
If your clogged sewer line goes unnoticed for too long, you’ll start noticing this sign: As the clog builds up, almost no wastewater will be able to move through the pipe. When this happens, your drains quit working altogether. Instead of just slightly slow drainage, your plumbing fixtures will seem to quit draining entirely.
Remember that all the plumbing fixtures in your home are connected, so a clogged sewer pipe will keep draining from happening all over the house. If you run the kitchen sink, you may walk into the bathroom to find a shower that seems clogged. Your toilets on the upper floor might seem to work fine, but then when you go downstairs, all the sinks may be clogged.
What to Do When Your Sewer Line Is Clogged
Noticing that your sewer line is clogged is half the battle. Once you realize it’s happening, the solution is simple. You just need to keep calm and remember Don’t Get Angry, We have the Solution.
Call Your Top-Rated Queen Creek & East Valley Plumbing Team
It’s technically possible to clear out some small sewer line clogs yourself, but this is rarely advisable. The problem with a DIY repair is that the majority of sewer line clogs are caused by broken pipes, tree roots, and other issues deep within your plumbing system. Most people who know how to handle a basic drain clog don’t have the tools for sewer drain clogs.
While is possible to clear a small sewer line clog yourself, it is rarely advised. The main cause of a clogged sewage line is a broken pipe. Tree roots, sagging and just old age cause your sewage line to become backed up. Most homeowners do not have the tools or know-how to properly fix a broken sewer line.
Our team of licensed East Valley plumbers has commercial-grade sewer line cleaners and equipment that allows us to clear away all sorts of clogs. Not only that, we have cameras that will show us exactly where and what the problem is.
Having our professionals examine your whole plumbing system ensures that the actual problem is addressed and taken care of. If your sewage line is broken, we need to replace the line entirely. This involves digging up the yard and doing some truly major plumbing. It’s not something that should be taken lightly.