Because drainage pipes are the least seen parts of your home’s plumbing systems, they are also the section of the plumbing where hidden problems are most likely to happen. These problems can range from small clogs/blockages to major issues that can cause your sewer line to back up, notes Keyrenter Northwest Chicago.
What are the signs that your drains are in trouble, and what should you do if you find any of these signs in your home?
8 signs of drain troubles in your home
- Slow drains
Depending on how this problem presents itself, you may be dealing with one or several blocked drains in your home. If multiple drains in the home are slow at the same time, you may have a blockage inside your sewer line. If only one drain is slow, maybe only the drain pipe for that fixture is clogged.
- Recurring drain clogs
If a fixture drain clogs repeatedly, even after you have tried to solve the problem, you may be looking at deeper issues. The clog may be far inside your drainage pipes, where the drain-cleaning solutions you applied are unable to reach.
- Strange sounds from your drains
If you hear gurgling or bubbling sounds from your drains, especially when you flush the toilet or run the washing machine, it is because pockets of air (sewer gases) are trapped inside the pipes. This only happens when the clogs inside your drains prevent the free flow of air.
- Sewage odors in your home
The smell of raw sewage in your home or around your yard could be due to two things. Trapped sewer gases inside the drainpipes are escaping into the house, or a broken section of sewer pipe is releasing raw sewage into your yard.
- Backed-up drains
If water is backing up inside a single fixture in your home (maybe the bathtub, shower, or toilet), it is safe to assume that the problem is with the drainage pipe for that specific fixture. However, if this problem is happening to multiple fixtures at once, you certainly have a blocked sewer line.
- Wet or lush green spots in the yard
This is a sign that an underground drainpipe or your sewer line is leaking and discharging wastewater into the soil. This is the reason for the perpetually soggy spot in your yard and the patch of grass that is greener than the rest of the lawn.
- Pest infestation
If fruit flies are invading your kitchen, the kitchen drain may be full of debris. If you’re suddenly seeing roaches, rats, raccoons, centipedes, etc. in your yard, you may have a broken sewer line that is providing food and water to these pests.
- Mold and mildew
If you smell mold inside your home – a musty odor in the dark, inaccessible corners of the house – you may have undetected drain issues. Slow drains create damp conditions that promote the growth of mold and mildew in parts of your home.
How to fix the drain troubles in your home
The first step is to identify the type of problems in your drainpipes, determine the location of those issues, and identify the materials blocking the pipes. This information will help you make an informed decision on the best method for cleaning your drainage pipes.
Here are the steps to solve your drain problems:
- Conduct a sewer camera inspection
A sewer camera inspection is the most effective method for diagnosing drainage problems. It uses a waterproof camera that is inserted into the drain line and maneuvered through the pipes to the location of the clog. While doing this, the camera sends a live feed of the inside of the pipes to an above-ground screen for analysis.
- Get professional drain-cleaning
This drain-cleaning method allows your plumber to reach deep inside your drains to directly remove clogs. Professional drain cleaning methods, such as sewer rodding and hydro jetting, are more effective than chemical drain cleaners, which don’t really remove clogs from your drainage system.
- Preventive drain maintenance
This ensures that after removing clogs and blockages inside your drainpipes, the problems don’t recur. They include the following steps:
- Installing drain strainers on sinks and shower drains
- Not dumping fats, oils, and grease, as well as starchy foods, fibrous veggies, eggshells, and coffee grounds into your drains
- Ensuring that only toilet paper, human waste, and water go into your toilet
- Using enzymatic drain cleaners in place of chemical drain cleaners
Lastly, have a professional Chicago plumber inspect your entire drainage system once a year or every two years. This small step can save you thousands of dollars and a lot of emotional stress. A detailed plumbing inspection will reveal problems you didn’t know existed in your drains, giving you the chance to solve them before they cause plumbing emergencies in your home.