At one time, many homes in Jerome, ID had highly permeable terracotta pipes on their exteriors. Most clay sewer pipes have been replaced with PVC, ABS plastic, or cast iron. Although these upgrades don’t always make sewer lines invulnerable to invasive weeds, they do limit the occurrence of intrusions. As a result, rooter service is sometimes used to clear sewer lines and, sometimes, used to clean dirty household pipes and drains. The following are several ways to know when you should schedule rooter service.
Soft, Soggy Terrain and Pungent Odors
When tree and weed roots encroach upon sewer lines, they create tiny cracks. These cracks can gradually widen as time goes on. Although the waste and wastewater that flows from your home might continue to pass through your sewer line when these issues are present, some of this sewage may seep out into the surrounding soil.
Over time, this seepage can leave your yard wet and soggy. Wastewater is rich with nutrients that can benefit landscape vegetation. The areas directly above and around your sewer line may look especially luscious and green.
Standing pools of water and rank sewer gas odors are also signs of sewer line encroachment. If your yard smells like rotten eggs, you may need rooter service. Delaying rooter service can allow invasive weeds to block your sewer pipe entirely. With nowhere to go, your waste will back up into your home through plumbing-connected appliances, fixtures, and drains.
Multiple Malfunctioning Drains
If your sewer line has a partial obstruction caused by dirty pipes and built-up waste, your drains will not work correctly. Although it isn’t uncommon to have one or two dirty and slow-moving drains, having all drains fail at once is cause for alarm. Every drainpipe in your home converges onto your sewer line. Multi-drain issues usually mean that the sewer line needs rooter service or another corrective treatment.
Shower, Sink Drain, and Appliance Issues
When showering, your gray water should exit through your drain rather than pooling around your feet. If you find yourself standing ankle-deep in water, you either have a blocked shower drain or a sewer line issue. In either case, rooter service can help.
Dishwashers and washing machines can underperform when sewer lines are clogged. Due to slow draining, they may fail to complete washing and rinsing cycles, or they might not initiate them at all. If your clothes or dishes still look dirty when these appliances turn off, dirty, clogged drains are a likely reason why.
Frequent Plumbing Clogs
Recurring plumbing clogs are a sign that the interior diameter of wastewater pipes has decreased. Buildups of hair, sediment, and grease in the interior of these pipes give solid and liquid waste far less room to move through. Slow-degrading items can get trapped by these buildups and cause clogs and overflows. If you’re constantly plunging or calling for clog removal service, you can get lasting improvements by having your drains and sewer line cleaned.
Pipes That Won’t Hold Up to Hydro-Jetting
There are multiple ways to clear a clogged sewer pipe and clean dirty, blocked drains. Hydro-jetting is a popular choice. During hydro-jetting, plumbers insert slim hoses into plumbing clean-outs and use high-pressure water to flush debris out toward the sewer main. This non-invasive treatment sloughs off built-up waste and pushes it along. It also flushes out all silt, sand, and sediment. Hydro-jetting is even powerful enough to break up invasive tree roots and weeds.
Unfortunately, hydro-jetting isn’t suitable for all plumbing systems. If your pipes are old, riddled with corrosion, and nearly ready for replacement, your plumber might recommend rooter service. Rooter service uses mechanical tools like electric drain snakes and augers that drill through obstructions. Rooter tools can pierce solid and semi-solid obstructions and pull them out or break them apart. In many instances, rooter service can also scrape off tough, tacky buildups on pipe walls without significantly impacting the structural integrity of older pipes.
Funky Drain Odors and Infestations
Slow-moving drains often develop thick, slimy coatings of biofilm. Biofilm is full of fungi, bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens. Although biofilm is a consequence of dirty, slow-moving drains, it can also further slow the movement of wastewater and exacerbate existing drain problems.
Pungent drain odors are often the result of stagnant water in wastewater pipes and odorous biofilm. Slow-moving drains also add to the accumulated debris in drain traps. This creates the perfect conditions for stubborn drain gnat infestations. Hydro-jetting can flush food, general waste, gnats, gnat eggs, and biofilm out. If hydro-jetting isn’t a suitable treatment for your pipes, rooter service can work much the same.
Elevated Humidity
Clogged drains and slow-moving water can add humidity to your home, even if you don’t have standing water in or around your plumbing fixtures. If your home feels hot, muggy, and oppressive even when your AC is on, you may need to clean your drains and sewer line.
Strange Gurgling Sounds Coming From Your Plumbing Fixtures
Give us a call if you have toilets, sinks, and shower drains that make loud gurgling and bubbling sounds. These noises usually occur at night when no one is using plumbing fixtures. They mean that slow-moving wastewater is finally clearing a partially blocked pipe or sewer line obstruction.
Delayed Drain Maintenance
You should have your drains professionally cleaned at least once each year. Routine drain maintenance keeps the interior of wastewater pipes clean and open. If you haven’t had your drains cleaned in a while, rooter service could be the most effective treatment.
In addition to having your drains cleaned, it’s also important to have your sewer line inspected every 18 to 24 months. This way, plumbers can catch and correct problems like sewer line encroachment early on.
How Does Rooter Service Work?
Like hydro-jetting, rooter service is performed at a main access point, such as a plumbing cleanout. Plumbers insert retractable tools into access points that drill through waste as they’re extended. The sharp tips on these tools scrape off buildups and snag or break through obstructions. Even when hydro-jetting is unsuitable for pipes, plumbers often flush drains and sewer lines following rooter service with low-pressure streams of water that push loosened waste toward the sewer main.
What Are the Benefits of Rooter Service?
Rooter service can help you avoid messy whole-house backups. It will also improve drain performance throughout your entire home and make it easier for plumbing-connected appliances to run complete and effective washing and rinsing cycles.
Slow-moving drains and drain build-ups can lead to dirty, bacteria-ridden plumbing fixtures and bathroom and kitchen surfaces. Thus, scheduling rooter service is also a great way to limit your risk of food-borne illnesses, dirty toothbrushes, skin infections, and other consequences of cross-contamination. Drain cleaning expedites the movement of wastewater to inhibit the development of biofilm and minimize pathogens.
We offer exceptional rooter service to help homeowners in Jerome keep their wastewater pipes clean and functioning optimally. We also provide expert electrical, gas, water filtration, and leak detection services. If you have dirty, slow-moving drains or other evidence of an impending whole-house backup, get in touch with Magic Electric, Plumbing, Heating + Air to schedule rooter service today!
