Do You Have To Clear Your Drain Every Year?

There are several common causes for a sewer mainline backup. Sometimes someone flushes something they shouldn’t have and it gets stuck. Waste flushed after that has a good chance of also getting stuck until nothing can get past it. Clearing or cleaning the pipe can often solve this problem.

If that’s not the case, you may be dealing with a failing pipe. It may have offsets where the pipe separates and slips out of alignment. There could be bellies in the pipe, where the weight of the pipe has caused it to dip down and collect waste. On top of that, roots can sneak into the line through gaps or cracks in the pipe.

Once you start dealing with recurring problems, clearing your pipe can’t get rid of it forever. At some point, your mainline will fail. Once that happens, you’re limited in your options. At that point, your only option is to dig. The longer you let it go, the fewer options you have.

If you want to avoid the worst problems, it's a good idea to get your lines inspected as soon as you notice them acting up. That could be if your sink has trouble draining even after you clean it, or if your toilet gurgles when you flush it. People tend to ignore their sewer mainline until they have a major backup. But by then, you might have flooding to deal with, not to mention taking time off of work and replacing flooring.