We often take the plumbing around our home for granted. Whether you’re living in a condo, a beach house, or a suburban single-family unit, when plumbing goes wrong – it’s often a disaster. The pipework is like the electrics in your home; we only seem to give it the attention it needs when things start going haywire.
You might not be aware of it, but the main sewer line from all the taps, baths, sinks, showers, and disposal, all run through your backyard – buried out of sight. While we would love to say that the build quality of your home is excellent, chances are you’re going to run into issues with the sewer line if you own the property for long enough.
Leaks in the sewer line are a common problem when this plumbing starts to fail. Here are a few signs to look for when assessing if there’s a leak in the sewer line on your property.
#1 Do Your Drains Clog Easy?
From time to time, everyone gets a clog at home. The toilet might stop up and need plunging, or the drains might stop up and need cleaning. However, if you notice that all the pipes around you home start clogging frequently, it’s a sign of a broken sewer line.
If you don’t act on the problem, then the clogging will start occurring more frequently, and you risk your toilets or septic system backing up into the bathrooms, causing a real mess.
#2 Soft and Soggy Spots Around Your Yard
If you start noticing clogging occurring, take a walk around your property. A broken or faulty sewer line will show in the terrain around your yard. You’ll probably see soft or soggy spots on the lawn where the grass is growing faster in one area. The water leak is giving that specific area more nutrients, and it’s growing faster.
Sometimes, the leak might be too deep to affect the surface, and you won’t notice ay soggy spots. A root from a tree could penetrate a buried sewer line, causing a crack that leaks. You’ll need professional help to source the leak and make the repair.
#3 The Smell Is Unmistakable
Surface leaks will often smell. You’ll notice a greywater sewage smell in your yard coming from the soft spot on the lawn. When you can smell the leak, it’s often close to the surface. The scent comes from both the water and the gas leaking from the sewer line.
Contact Professionals for Help with Your Sewer Line
If you notice any of the issues in this article, don’t bother with the hassle of trying to fix the sewer line yourself. Contact a professional plumbing service to sort out the problem for you. Professionals use specialized leak-detection equipment to source the exact area of the leak in the sewer line.
They only need to dig up a small area around the pipe to fix the problem. Most jobs are easy enough to fix with same-day service. Contact a professional for help with your leaky sewer line right now.