Portland’s Best Sewer Line Cleaning, Camera Inspection, and Hydrojetting Service
The sewer line is – by far – your home’s most important plumbing component. If you’ve ever wondered where all the water you produce by flushing toilets, taking showers, or washing dishes ends up, it’s in the sewer line – this is the pipe that carries that wastewater down into your city’s local sewer.
So what happens if it gets clogged?
Well, having a clogged toilet or clogged sink is one thing. A clogged sewer line, on the other hand, means that your entire water flow system is backed up. The water has nowhere to go – it’s trying to get out through the sewer line, but it can’t. It’s not hard to imagine the catastrophes this could cause.
Fortunately, there is a solution: hydrojetting. This technique is as cool as it sounds. Before we tell you a bit more about hydrojetting, though how do you know if you even have a clogged sewer line?
Most common signs of a clogged sewer line, include:
Backing up of water in sinks, tubs, dishwashers and more
Backups are one of the most obvious indicators that you have a problem with your sewer line. Above we mentioned that, if you have a clogged sewer line, the water flowing out of your home has nowhere to go. Well, that’s not entirely accurate – it actually does have one place to go, but only one, and that’s back up through your drains.
Say you’re taking a shower – if you have a clogged sewer line, you might notice that water starts to pool in the tub. If you’re washing your hands, the water might seem to go down the drain much more slowly than normal.
All the plumbing is connected, so you’ll probably see the use of one drain affecting other drains, too. For instance: you might flush the toilet and see water bubbling up in your tub. Maybe you notice that, when your washing machine is running, your toilet starts gurgling. Things like these are very clear signs that you have a system-wide problem, possibly a clogged sewer line.
More than One Clog
If you’ve noticed that you suddenly have multiple clogs, maybe in toilets or showers you’ve never really had any issues with, there’s a good chance the problem is deeply rooted and not just simple, simultaneous clogs.
True, you could have multiple drains that are individually clogged, but what are the chances of that? Not too high unless you went out of your way to make that happen! Remember: your sewer line is the foundation of your entire system, so if you have a problem there, you’re going to have problems everywhere.
Even if you’re able to unclog one toilet or one shower drain in the good, old-fashioned way, this doesn’t mean you don’t have a clogged sewer line – the water could just be flowing elsewhere, so keep that in mind.
A Bad Sewer Smell From Sinks and other Drains
As gross as it is to think about, raw sewage has a certain, *ahem*, unpleasant smell If a horrible odor starts creeping into your bathrooms, and you have no idea where it’s coming from, there’s a good chance you’re looking at a clogged sewer line, especially if the smell is in *all* of your bathrooms.
If the problem is only coming from one drain, on the other hand, that awful stench could be caused by a dry p-trap. A p-trap is a section of pipe that’s bent. This bend prevents unwanted backflow from coming into your home – namely, the smell of sewage. If it’s dry, however, it can’t do its job properly.
Finding out where a bad sewer smell is coming from is easy. The easiest way to figure out if a dry p-trap is the problem is to pour a bucket of water down the sink, flush your toilet as normal – you want water to flow through the pipe the smell is coming from. If the smell doesn’t go away within a day or two of trying this, a dry p-trap isn’t the issue and you’ll want to look into a possibly clogged sewer line.
Water in Your Yard
Pooling water on your property is a very clear sign of some problem with your plumbing. The sewer line may have actually burst, spilling out all that water into the ground. If the standing water smells like sewage, well, that’s a pretty obvious clue as to what’s going on!
Your Outdoor Sewer Cleanout is Overflowing
Everyone with a sewer line has what’s called a sewer cleanout. This is a little vertical pipe with a cap that you can find in your yard – it allows direct access to the sewer line. If this is overflowing with water, you can rest assured that you have a clogged sewer line.
Hydrojetting – The Best Way to Fix a Clogged Sewer Line
It’s probably safe to say that the effects of a clogged sewer line are not something you or your family members want to deal with. So, if you do have a clogged sewer line, how can professionals like those at Grumpy’s Drains help you get rid of the problem? Through hydrojetting, of course! This is where we pump high-pressure water through the line at such a force that any obstruction will be either blown away or broken apart and then blown away. The other great thing about hydrojetting is that, unlike the “snaking-the-drain” technique, it won’t just clear away the obstruction but also material that’s built up on the interior walls of the pipe over time .This can extend your sewer line’s lifespan
Sewer line camera inspections and hydrojetting – Not a DIY Project
As you might guess, hydrojetting is a method that requires not only specialized equipment but a bit of tact – an inexperienced plumber may actually break pipes, causing even more problems. The correct, precise amount of pressure needs to be applied. This is partly why we’ll use a camera to inspect the sewer line before we begin hydrojetting. It’s also why you want to hire a team that actually knows what they’re doing. A team like the folks here at Grumpy’s Drains!
RootX Helps Keep Trees from causing costly sewer line problems
As part of our work we also offer RootX, which is a great product at clearing out those irritating tree roots from your pipes and keeping them out of the rain drain system. It is completely EPA approved and will not harm above ground plants and trees. The city of Portland uses RootX on it’s sewer lines. Together, RootX and hydrojetting are like the “dynamic duo” of rain drain cleaning.
Why Choose Grumpy’s Drains?
So, we can tell you all about how skilled and effective our team is, but just saying it doesn’t make it true, does it? Usually, the proof is in the pudding. So, why should you trust us to work on such an important part of your home?
Well, over the 15 years we’ve been in business we’ve worked with thousands of customers around Portland and have garnered more than 500 A + Reviews on Angie’s List. We’re also proud to say that we’ve received their Super Service Award more than 11 times. Don’t listen to us – listen to people who have already worked with us!
Our goal is to solve your plumbing issue as efficiently as possible – we’ll locate the source of the problem and then deal with it. No nonsense!
