Kansas City Homeowners: 6 Warning Signs Your Sewer Line Needs Inspection
It’s a beautiful morning in Kansas City like any other.
Looking out at your lawn, you notice a few more dips in the grass. You’ve been hitting those with the mower for a while. You wonder if maybe it’s old roots rotting or some sort of run-off problem.
Underneath your home, a critical situation is developing. A crack in your sewer line has been growing and is just about ready to become a real, apparent problem.
Whether it’s dips in the grass, a clogged sink, or cracks and other defects appearing in your foundation, you may already have signs that your sewer line is in need of inspection or repair.
Common Signs of Sewer Line Damage
Signs that your sewer line may be due for inspection can vary based on the type of issue you have and its severity. Homeowners should keep in mind that fairly small signs can indicate a severe issue underground and should not wait to schedule an inspection. Sewer line issues can extend all the way to the mainline, where all drain outlets meet, and finally out to the city connection.
1. Sunken, Soft Ground
If you see dips in your lawn or areas where the grass grows in fuller or greener these may indicate that sediment is being affected by damage in your sewer line. When walking your lawn try to note these irregularities. Spots like these mean a leak may be saturating the sediment and breaking it down beneath the grass.
2. Cracked or Sinking Foundation
A damaged sewer line may affect the area under the home enough to cause damage to the foundation. You may see cracks, a sinking foundation, or may observe other signs of a damaged foundation that can be caused by a broken sewer line leaking beneath your home. Without adequate repairs, a sinking or damaged foundation will render considerable damage to your entire residence.
3. Offensive Odors
If you smell certain foul odors in your home, specifically near drains or sewer line inlets, it may indicate a sewer line leak is present. The odor of leaking sewage will be apparent to most homeowners but is otherwise comparable to that of rotten eggs or sulfur. This smell may be apparent inside your home near drains or you may pick up the odor in certain areas of your yard.
4. Mold
The appearance of mold in your home can indicate a leak severe enough to have spread to the insides of your walls, or the leak itself may be located somewhere in your home. Even without visual confirmation, if a homeowner smells mold in one or more places in their residence they should more than likely schedule an inspection.
5. Drains Frequently Clog
Common household clogs can usually be prevented. Homeowners should avoid using their drains for grease, paper towels, or other contents that are likely to form a blockage. If you experience frequent or permanent clogging of one or more of your home’s drains, such as in the shower or the kitchen sink, it may indicate the need for a specialist to investigate the mainline for blockage or disruption.
6. Sewage Backup
If you are experiencing a sewage backup in any part of your home, it is critical that you inspect for mainline damage. This includes backup that occurs as a result of using another drain, such as one sink filling up as a result of running another. While the backup is enough to schedule an inspection it can indicate a much larger issue further from the source of the backup which will require sewer line repairs from a specialist.
Being Proactive is Key
There are many issues that can happen as a result of a damaged or blocked sewer line. If only experiencing one or more of these symptoms, a homeowner might try to address them with short-term solutions. If the issue is caused by your sewer line, you might find yourself paying for something that does not fix the larger problem.
It is more practical in the long run to make sure those things that you can’t see are in order before trying to address one of these common signs that you need a sewer line inspection.
Sewer Line Inspections in Kansas City
If you’ve identified one or more of these symptoms in your home, you may very well need a sewer line inspection or repair. B&L Plumbing is servicing the greater Kansas City area, and we are here to help! Our experts can identify if there is a problem beneath your property and we offer trenchless sewer line repair to keep your yard intact if a repair is ultimately needed. Contact us with your concerns and schedule an inspection of your sewer line today!
