Here’s a serious question we hear from Arizona homeowners, “Do I have a clogged main sewer line or just a regular clog?”
To help you know the difference, think of your plumbing like a tree. All of the drains in your home are the branches and the main sewer line is the main trunk. Just like how all the limbs lead to the trunk, all the drains lead to the main sewer line.
But if the main sewer line gets clogged, then raw sewage has nowhere else to go but back up all your drains and into your home!
Yuck!
This not only creates health hazards but it can cost thousands in water damage to your home – and your insurance may not cover it.
Western National Insurance reports, “Most homeowner and business insurance policies do not cover sewer backup unless specific sewer backup coverage is added to the policy.”
So, what causes this?
Well, you may have flushed the wrong items down the toilet, and they’re blocking the main line. Or, more likely, tree roots from a tree over the main line have grown into the pipe, cracking it or possibly collapsing it.
To find out the actual cause, you’ll need to call a professional plumber to run a fiber optic sewer line camera to look down the sewer line.
If you don’t feel like calling a professional yet, look for these three signs that your main sewer line is clogged:
1) Several backed up drains
Most people notice that they have main sewer line clog because several of their drains are backed up at the same time.
As previously mentioned, a clog in your main line blocks everything from exiting into the city sewer, so the water backs to multiple drains, especially the toilets, which have a direct path to the sewer. If your toilets are fine, then you might not have a main sewer line clog.
2) Water backs up to lower drains when using other fixtures
When you flush your toilet or use your washing machine, do you have nasty looking water gurgling up into your bathtub or shower?
This could be caused by a main sewer line clog.
Because the water can’t leave, it backs up into the lowest drains – the bathtubs and showers on the first floor.
3) Water is standing or flowing up out the sewer cleanout
The cleanout is an access point that allows a plumber to clear out junk obstructing the sewer line. It’s usually a white pipe with a rubber cap. You can find it around the sides of your home or near the bushes. If you have an older home, you may not have a sewer cleanout.
Once you’ve found the cleanout, take off the cap. If water is standing or flowing out of the cleanout, that means there’s a problem farther down the sewer line causing the water to backup.
If you’ve noticed these three signs, then…
First, find the main water valve (located either on an exterior wall or in an underground box with a removable lid) and shut off water supply to your home.
Second, leave the sewer cleanout cap off. This will relieve some pressure to your home and allow the water to come outside the home instead of flowing up your drains.
Third, call a professional plumber to come clear the clog using an auger. If they can’t clear the main line, they’ll have to use a fiber optic sewer line camera to find the problem and go from there. QCBN
By Larry Thornton
For more information, call Pitzer’s One Hour/Benjamin Franklin at 928-302-6527 or visit www.Pitzer’sOneHour.com
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