Your sewer line is the backbone of your home’s wastewater management system. Without it, your plumbing system wouldn’t work. This single pipe runs beneath your foundation and through your yard. It routes all your liquid and solid waste to the municipal sewer main. When sewer pipes have clogged, offset, or cracked sections, sewage and wastewater can leach into local soils or rush back into homes. To help you make timely interventions and avoid plumbing disasters, the following are the top red flags you need professional sewer repairs now.

Multi-Drain Issues

All your drains and plumbing-connected appliances converge onto your sewer line. Although it’s not uncommon to have one smelly, clogged, or slow-moving drain, experiencing issues with multiple drains at once is a sign of sewer line problems. If all your drains have foul odors, move slowly, or back up at the same time, you need a sewer repair right away.

If your dishwasher or washing machine struggles to start or finish cycles, a sewer line blockage may be restricting water flow. Multi-drain issues and malfunctioning appliances might mean that a sewer line clog is obstructing the flow of wastewater.

Rank Sewer Gas Odors

Sewer gas has a distinctive, pungent smell. To most people, it smells like rotten cabbage or rotten eggs. Your indoor drains have water-filled P-traps that block sewer gases from entering the building. When P-traps dry out, plumbing drains reek. However, it’s unlikely that every drain in your home will have dry P-traps at once.

If all drains smell like sewer gas, contact a plumber. You should also schedule sewer service if you smell sewer gas in your basement or crawl spaces or above the underground section of your sewer pipe in your yard.

Standing Water in Your Yard

Sewer lines leach raw sewage into local soils. After saturating nearby soil, wastewater or sewage begins to pool. If you have standing pools of water around or above your sewer line, this pipe likely has cracked or offset sections.

Stubborn or Recurring Pest Infestations

Cracked sewer lines attract pests. They provide entrance for mice, rats, and other rodents. They also serve as a reliable food and water source for ants, flies, cockroaches, and other insects. If you have a stubborn pest infestation and can’t seem to eliminate it, finding and fixing a sewer line leak could make all the difference.

Foundation Cracks

When the portion of your sewer line that travels beneath your home’s slab leaks, it saturates the underlying soil and causes it to shift and settle. These movements create voids beneath concrete slabs and eventually cause foundation cracks.

Taking care of sewer problems before they escalate will protect the value, marketability, and livability of your home. If you need a sewer line repair in Eureka, IL, get in touch with Travco Plumbing today.