What Are Plumbing Blockages?

Let’s face it. There are no good plumbing issues. Your home’s plumbing is generally so reliable that you seldom need to worry about it until an emergency happens. But, dealing with a plumbing blockage is probably the worst kind of plumbing problem. Plumbing blockages only happen in drain and sewer lines. Thus, every time you have to deal with a blocked pipe you are having to go into contact with all the nasty stuff that your sewer is designed to protect you from.

As blockages become worse, dirty water will begin to back up into other parts of your home. Toilets will fail to flush and will start to overflow. Bathtubs can have sewage back up into them. During all of this, the plug will only continue to get worse until it is dealt with. Fortunately, there are methods to fix this problem and prevent it in the future.

What Is Considered Outdoor Plumbing?

Even homeowners that are diligent about home maintenance tend to forget about taking care of plumbing outside the home. As a result, sewer lines and landscape drainage can become perilously clogged. When sewer lines become clogged, all the drains in your home will start to back up into other fixtures, such as bathtubs.

Outdoor sewer cleanouts might pop off and start spilling sewage out onto your lawn. If you've noticed the drain is running slow but not yet completely clogged, you should address the problem immediately. Pipe blockages have a tendency to grow as water is allowed to back up in the sewer main.

In the case of landscape drainage, rainwater from your roof and landscape will pool on your lawn. Pooled water will damage turfgrass and make lawn maintenance difficult. Allowing water to back up against the foundation of your home can also lead to negative side effects such as shifting foundations or allowing moisture to stagnate beneath the home.

What Causes Plumbing Clogs?

Maintaining outdoor plumbing is key to preventing the damage of pipe blockage. Flushing only appropriate items will prevent foreign objects from settling in your sewer main. Keeping trees and bushes away from your plumbing lines will prevent them from encroaching and invading your lines.

Installing hair traps in your showers will keep hair from tangling with other matter, therefore preventing a clog. Throwing cooking grease in the trash instead of washing it down the kitchen sink will prevent the grease from fouling the walls of the sewer as it hardens back up.

Landscape drains are fitted with filter screens to keep lawn debris and leaves from entering your drains. Sump tanks may also be part of your landscaping. Sumps are tank designs to let sediment settle out, while allowing water to flow away. Periodically, sump tanks need to have the sediment removed to keep protecting the rest of the system from clogs.

Using Hydrojetting for Help

The cure to any serious pipe blockage is hydrojetting. Hydrojetting is a technology that is similar in concept to pipe snaking. However, instead of using a spinning blade to chop through a blockage, hydrojetting uses high-pressure water to break up clogs, blast the walls of the pipe clean and wash the resulting sludge out of your system.

It is essentially like pressure washing any pipe that the jet is inserted into. Once hydrojetting is complete, pipes will be free of any blockages or buildup, just like new. This should always be handled by an expert as the pressure is high enough to damage the plumbing if not done properly.

About Laney’s Inc. 

Laney’s Inc. is a local business that has been providing plumbing services in Fargo, ND since 1960. In that time, they have dealt with thousands of blockages and helped thousands of customers fix their plumbing problems. Whether you need your pipes hydrojetted or need emergency services, call them anytime day or night. They never charge premium rates for after-hour service.

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