Clean Your Sewers to Keep Your Drains From Backing Up

Keeping your sewer lines clean is an important part of home maintenance. Because you can’t see your sewer lines, it can be hard to tell when you have a problem. This fact makes it even more important that you keep careful tabs on your sewers, and watch out for potential warning signs. If you don’t pay attention to your sewers, you could end up with a large, and expensive, mess. But you can prevent your drains from backing up by keeping your sewers clean in the first place.

To begin with, try to have a professional come in to clean your sewers at least once every 18-22 months. You might need to have a plumber in more often, depending on the number of people in your home and the stress they place on the sewers. These time frames vary from household to household. Once your plumber has arrived, he or she can use a video camera to ascertain what problems your sewers might be experiencing. Your plumber can then make the proper recommendations based on those problems.

Sometimes your drains will be backed up for reasons other than dirty sewer lines. For example, tree roots might have penetrated your pipes and then grown in such a way that they’ve come to completely block those pipes.

When it comes to how you go about cleaning your sewers, you’ll have a few options. To start, though, you’ll always want to have a plumber use a video camera to obtain a visual of the situation. Next, if tree roots are the cause of your problem, you’ll need to use a mechanical auger to get rid of them. An auger will cut the roots away. It’s important to remember, though, that this is only a momentary solution. If you don’t take further action, the roots will simply grow back. You might also need to employ a chemical tree root remover. If the pipes already caused a great deal of damage before you removed them, though, you may need to replace those pipes entirely. Regularly checking up on your sewer lines can help you to avoid this option.

Another effective method for cleaning your sewers is to use a hydro-jetter. A hydro-jetter works by pumping 4,000 psi of water through the sewer pipes. The flow of water is generally effective for flushing away a source of blockage.

Visit a residential plumber in Santa Cruz for more information about cleaning your sewers and avoiding drain blockage.