Your home is both your sanctuary and an investment, so having problems with the sewer system can be especially stressful and worrisome, but fear not – we’ve put together this guide to sewer repair San Francisco residents can use to help you out. We know that finding help for sewer repair San Francisco homeowners can trust isn’t always a straightforward process, so be sure to check out this guide and remember to call or email us if you still have questions or need professional plumbing help.
What Causes Sewer Problems?
Sewer problems can range from the most simple of blockages to complex issues with pipe infrastructure and terrain, and even the trees and shrubs on your property. In some cases, the problem may even be with your septic tank or sewer lines being unable to hand what’s being flushed down the drain. Always make sure you only flush septic tank safe toilet paper, as items like thicker towels, diapers, or plastics can be difficult for your system to process and can lead to some nasty backups.
In the case of trees and shrubs, roots can invade sewer lines via cracks or breaks in the pipe. Once inside, these roots thrive in the moist, nutrient rich environment that they find themselves in, and will grow to the point that they’ll block the entire sewer line or snag materials to create blockages.
If the surrounding terrain shifts around the sewer line, the line can collapse or become broken due to sinkholes or changes in surrounding pressure and support.
There are even more problems that can affect sewer lines, but these are some of the most common ones we see. Keep in mind that at Performance Plumbing, we can repair any sewer problems as we have extensive experience and training to fix any issue that can cause problems with your sewer line.
What can be Done to Repair Sewer Problems?
Several actions can be taken to fix these common sewer problems. In the case of blockages that can’t be fixed by a simple plunger or metal wire, you may need a professional plumber to utilize a metal “snake” known as a rooter. The rooter is a metal line with a mesh head that can expand and contract to cut through the materials that are causing the blockage, such as tree or shrub roots.
High quality plumbers like Performance Plumbing can even conduct video inspections of your sewer line to visually pinpoint and document the problem and it’s exact location, using a metal line with a camera attached to the end. This not only helps find obstructions like blockages, but can also help reveal problems with the structural integrity of your sewer line such as cracks.
If the integrity of the sewer line is really bad, such as when a section of the line collapses from a sinkhole, or if there are simply too many cracks and too much wear and tear, sections of the sewer line may need to be replaced to fully repair your sewer line.
We hope that after reading this information you now have a better understanding of the problems that can affect sewer lines and some of the methods used to fix them. If you still have questions or think you need a professional plumber to help fix your sewer line, give us a call and we’ll be happy to help you out. One of the most trusted names in plumbing in the San Francisco Bay Area, we’re proud to use our professional experience and training to help keep our neighbors as informed and well-served as possible.