How To Tell You Need A Sewer Cleanout

One part of your home that you may not feel needs cleaning is your main sewer line. Over time, it's possible for this pipe to become clogged and cause several problems within your home. If you have not had the sewer line cleaned out in a while, or not sure if it's ever been done, be on the lookout for these warning signs and then pick a solution.

Warning Signs of a Clogged Sewer Line

These are reasons to be concerned about the state of your sewer line.

Slow Moving Drains

Have you been having problems across your entire home where drains are taking a very long time to empty? This is a frustrating problem to deal with, especially since it can't be fixed by using a plunger. If all the drains in your home move slowly, it's likely because your sewer line is clogged and needs professional cleaning.

Bad Odors

Is there a bad odor that you noticed coming from the drains in your home? If so, this is not due to something that smells in that specific sink's drain. It's likely that there is a clog that has caused an odor to rise up from the pipe when the water in the p-trap becomes disrupted. Having the sewer line cleaned will push out whatever is causing that bad odor and stop your drains from stinking. A bad odor can also happen outside your home in the part of your yard where the sewer line is running underground.

Methods of Clearing a Clogged Sewer Line

There are two main methods that will be used to clear a clogged sewer line.

Snaking

A plumber can clear out your sewer line by using a sewer snake. This is a flexible cable with a cutting tool on the end, which is forced into the sewer line and can cut through any debris that is in the way. This works great for clogs caused by tree roots, or simply when you have a buildup of toilet paper in a drain.

Hydro Jetting

Another method involves using a very powerful jet of water, which is strong enough to clear out the walls of a pipe and everything that is stuck to it. This method is used when the problem is believed to be due to a buildup of grease or minerals in the pipe, since hydro jetting scrapes the walls of the pipe so they are clean.

Speak to drain cleaning services like Equisure Inspectors about using either of these two sewer cleaning methods.