Replacing your home’s sewer line is a fairly major undertaking and something you want to try to avoid when possible. Unfortunately, no sewer line will last forever. The average lifespan for sewer lines is between 50 and 100 years, but some will fail and need to be replaced sooner. How long any sewer line lasts usually comes down to the type of pipe and whether it’s well maintained. In this article, we’ll look at the various signs and issues that can indicate a sewer line may need to be replaced and why regular inspections will help protect and preserve a sewer line.
Age
Although many of the Denver suburbs have fairly new homes, the metro area has a fairly high percentage of old homes. Quite a few of these older homes still have their original sewer lines, in which case we’d recommend replacing them. If your home was built before 1975 or so and the sewer line has never been replaced, your sewer line is likely cast iron or possibly clay and might be due for an update.
Old cast iron and clay pipes tend to be fairly brittle and much more susceptible to damage than newer PVC sewer lines. That means there is an increased risk that any old cast iron or clay sewer line will start leaking, break, or even completely collapse. Any type of sewer line leak is a serious problem since it can start flooding your yard with raw sewage. If the leak is near your home, the wastewater can also potentially seep through your foundation and into your basement or crawlspace. This is why you should immediately contact a plumber if you smell sewage in your yard. Another indication that your sewer line is potentially leaking is if any of the grass near it grows faster than the rest of your lawn and looks greener and healthier.
Your plumbing will also quickly become unusable if the sewer line breaks or collapses since waste will no longer be able to drain out into the municipal sewer system. That means you’ll soon end up with a backup where the sewage starts flowing out of the shower and floor drains inside your house.
The majority of cast iron and clay sewer lines that still exist are either at or near the end of their lifespans. This is why we recommend sewer line replacement if your house has a cast iron or clay pipe. Installing a new PVC sewer line is an easy way to avoid all the issues we just mentioned and ensure that your plumbing, drain, and sewer system always work properly.
Lack of Sewer Cleanouts
One easy way to tell if an old home still has the original sewer line or not is whether there are sewer cleanouts in the yard. A sewer cleanout is a short piece of PVC pipe that sticks up through the ground and has a cap on top. If the house has a PVC sewer line, it will almost always have one or two cleanouts in the yard that connect to the sewer line underground. The purpose of these cleanouts is to allow a plumber easy access to the sewer line if it needs to be cleaned and unclogged or inspected. If the home doesn’t have any sewer cleanouts outside, there are only two ways a plumber can access the sewer line. One is by removing a toilet and going in through the drain pipe and the other is by going in through the plumbing vent pipe on the roof.
Some homes with cast iron sewer lines do have one cleanout outside. This type of cleanout is almost always located below ground level within a hole that has a metal sleeve to prevent it from getting buried. If you have this type of cleanout and not one or two PVC cleanouts sticking up through the ground, it means your sewer line is fairly old and will likely need to be replaced fairly soon.
Tree Roots
One situation where a sewer line needs to be replaced or repaired is if tree roots are growing inside it. Tree root intrusion is a common issue in older homes. That’s because many older homes have one or more large trees in the yard and also because many have cast iron sewer lines. The joints or connections in old cast iron sewer lines are often not completely tight and have small gaps that tree roots can start growing through. Once inside, the roots will eventually begin taking over since the waste in the pipe fertilizes them and the wastewater feeds them. Larger roots can also just end up breaking a hole through the pipe, and this is usually how tree roots first get inside PVC sewer lines.
A plumber can remove tree roots from the sewer line fairly easily using either a rooting machine or a hydro-jet machine. The only problem is that more roots will eventually get inside if the pipe isn’t repaired or replaced. That means there will come a time when the sewer line again starts frequently clogging and backing up.
Frequent Clogs
Other than clogs caused by tree root intrusion, most other sewer line clogs are easy to prevent by not flushing or washing things down a drain that you shouldn’t. Fat, grease, wet wipes, feminine hygiene products, cotton pads, condoms, cat litter, and excessive amounts of food waste will all greatly increase the chance of drain and sewer clogs. If you’re always careful about what goes down your drains and your sewer line still clogs frequently, it may mean it needs to be replaced.
One issue with cast iron sewer lines is that they continually rust and corrode over time. This can lead to a thick layer of rust building up inside the pipe so that its inside diameter gets much smaller. That makes it easier for solid materials to get stuck and eventually cause the pipe to clog.
Another issue that can cause a sewer line to frequently clog is if it isn’t sufficiently sloped. For a sewer line to drain properly, it must be sufficiently sloped so that the waste naturally flows out of it due to the force of gravity. The minimum for a sewer line to work as it should is 1/4 inch of downward slope per foot. If the pipe doesn’t have sufficient slope, lots of solid waste will end up getting stuck and eventually causing it to clog. A similar issue is if the soil has shifted and led to a section of the sewer line sagging. A sag or belly will also end up trapping waste and leading to a clog. The only solution to overcome issues caused by a sewer line that isn’t sufficiently sloped or has a belly is to dig it up and replace it.
The Importance of Regular Sewer Inspections
Annual sewer inspections are the only way to know if a sewer line has developed any issues and also to tell when it’s time to have it replaced. A plumber uses a fiber optic camera to inspect a sewer line and check for tree roots, cracks, obstructions, and other issues. This type of inspection ensures that your sewer line isn’t leaking, and it can also help avoid clogs. That’s because the camera makes it easy for a plumber to tell if your sewer line is at risk of clogging so that you can then get it cleaned.
Summit Heating, A/C, Plumbing & Electrical has been proudly serving our neighbors in Denver and the surrounding areas since 1998. We offer expert sewer line replacement and repair services, and our experienced team of professionals is ready to take care of all of your plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical services as well. Contact us today for a sewer line inspection or if you need any other home service.
