Sewer lines with clogs of human wastes often have the smell of old underground drain pipes. Apart from the offensive smell, the main sewer line with blockages might flow slowly. Also, the pipe may not drain water in extreme cases. Other warning signs of sewer line blockages might be unpleasant. Sometimes, sewer clogs can trigger the reversal of sewage to your toilet bowl. This experience is often embarrassing and leads to a bigger plumbing problem. I’ll explain more signs and how to restore sewer lines to their proper working conditions.
What Are the Signs of Sewer Clogs?
Low Drain Pressure
It’s common to experience low drain pressure when you have sewer blockage or other similar issues. When the drains of multiple plumbing fixtures clog, they will reduce the pressure further. Usually, the loss of water pressure and gravitational force is a gradual process. Bathroom floor, toilet, and other low drains in your house are common plumbing fixtures that are affected. While trying to cope with low pressure of clogged sewer lines, it might worsen the condition, and cause a pool of stagnant wastewater inside your plumbing fixtures.
Overflow and Water Backups
The main sewer pipe connects toilet, sinks, and shower drains and discharges human wastes into septic tanks. When sewer lines are clogged; your toilet bowl could still be clear, and not show any signs of wastewater back up. Since sewer clogs prevent the flow of solid wastes and water, there might be a back up in your bathroom and toilet. Water could also flow from one plumbing fixture into another when there’s a sewer clog. Also, when they try to flush, water backs up and lead to an overflow. So, it’s normal to see backups when wastewater has no access through the drain lines.
Offensive Sewage Smell
The smell of clogged drains and sewer lines is like the offensive odour from decomposing sewage. The difference between a functional sewage systems and sewer clog issues is that a blockage in the mainline releases sewer gases into your bathroom. Instead of buying air fresheners, hire a plumber to decongest the clogged pipes from the plumbing system’s sewer cleanout. Offensive smells from washroom drains are often easy to notice because a clean toilet bowl and bathroom shouldn’t have an unexplained smell. Most of the times when this happens there is something in your bathroom drain that is blocked.
How to Restore Clogged Sewer Lines
Hiring a certified plumber can save homeowners the hassles of clogged sewer and drain pipes. Since blockages cause buildups of gas pressure inside the pipes, the vents along drain pipes will fail to discharge sewer gases into the environment. Instead, these sewer gases and raw sewage will flow back into your home. These are some techniques for restoring clogged sewer lines.
Turning off the main water supply line before the arrival of a professional plumbing contractor can mitigate the effects of sewer clogs. It’s the main supply valve that helps to shut off the water, but you can turn off specific plumbing fixture when the main valve is defective.
Suspend the use of all plumbing fixtures that are affected by the sewer clog, and ask your household to comply. The plumber will install a sewer clean-out line with the main sewer line if your home’s plumbing system lacks it. It’s the sewer clean-out line that helps to relieve pressure in the drains and prevent backups of water in plumbing fixtures.
Also, depressurizing the clogged sewer line with hydro-jetting tools can prevent expensive damages. Another preventive maintenance tip is regular inspection of the plumbing system in your property. Homeowners and their household should discontinue the practice of flushing solid waste down the drains when they can’t be dissolved by water. It will reduce the need for paying a plumber to clear their sewer lines.
