Let’s face it. Sometimes, we get a little lazy and we don’t do things by the book. Sometimes, our indifference and bad habits can come back to bite us, especially with a sensitive and delicately balanced system like the home sewer. Here are some typical bad home habits that can cause sewer issues, and some tips for avoiding them.
Flushing Foreign Objects
Your sewer is designed to handle organic waste and toilet tissue, not other discarded elements. People often flush things like cotton swabs, baby wipes, and feminine hygiene products, but those foreign objects tend to catch and build up in the sewer line, leading to clogs and backups. Stick to what your system was designed for, and you shouldn’t run into any issues.
Digging Deeply
Whether planting a tree, building a fence or outbuilding, digging a plot for a garden, or letting kids burn energy with an impromptu backyard treasure hunt, there’s a chance of hitting water lines. In most cases, water lines are at least two feet beneath the surface of the soil, but settling earth, landscaping changes, or inaccurate measurements can reduce that depth considerably. Besides, it’s not unheard of for children to hatch overzealous plots to dig to the center of the earth. Breaching these lines can cause major issues with erosion, flooding, and even overwhelm the public sewer system. Public sewers can back up into your home and cause big problems.
Avoiding issues with buried lines is as easy as calling 811, the utility location service. They’ll tell you where gas, electric, and water lines are so you don’t cause yourself the headache of flooded basements or no running water.
Blissful Ignorance
For most people, the sewer is out of sight and out of mind. Until trouble arises, that is. We understand that a sewer isn’t the most fun or exciting part of home chores. But it’s an important and central element of the wellbeing of your home and your family. Have your fixtures and lines checked every year and a half or so—especially in advance of expected heavy storms. That way, you’ll catch small problems before they become big problems and stay on top of your sewer’s health.
What can you do about sewer issues?
Maybe you haven’t been so on-top of your home habits, and one of these sewer issues has cropped up. We proudly serve homeowners in Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Redmond, and beyond. If you’ve got a project in mind or need inspection or servicing for existing plumbing, contact us for further information and help with your problems.
For more urgent appointments, Best Plumbing offers 24/7 emergency burst pipe repair services. Simply call our emergency hotline (206) 800-7822 and we’ll be there to get the issue solved.
Serving the communities of Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Burien, Everett, Woodinville, Redmond, Federal Way, Kent, Issaquah, Renton, SeaTac, Bothell, and Lynnwood.
