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Sewer line leaks can go undetected for a long time, especially if they are buried in your yard. Sewer lines can be located between two and four feet below the ground, and when they start to leak, it can be challenging to pinpoint where the leak is coming along the line. So, how do I find a sewer line leak in my yard?
One of the earliest signs of a sewer leak in your yard is a section of the lawn that is thicker and greener than the rest. Sewer pipes remove waste from your home, and that waste acts as a fertilizer for the grass closest to the leak. This is not a good thing. On the contrary, as the sewer line deteriorates further, the more waste product will back up into your yard, eventually causing muddy, wet waste puddles to form. Yuck.
Know the Symptoms of a Sewer Line Leak
Ignoring the symptoms that come along with a sewer leak can pose a significant risk to your family’s safety, as well as to the structure of your home. Raw sewage consists of all kinds of nasty stuff, from human waste to food scraps and a variety of chemicals from soaps, cleansers, and drain cleaners. All these waste products begin to thicken in your sewer line, reacting with and against each other as dangerous micro-organisms invade this mess.
One of the most dangerous aspects of a sewer line leak is the various gases generated by a sewage leak. Carbon dioxide, methane, chlorine, nitrous oxide, and hydrogen sulfide are all present in sewer lines, and if backed up into your home by a sewer leak can make you sick.
Older sewer lines were made of clay and tend to start to erode after forty or fifty years. As a bonus, clay sewer lines are also susceptible to cracking from the settling of the soil around them, and to infiltration from tree roots. Clay sewer lines should be replaced after the discovery of a single leak, as any break can indicate the overall condition of your sewer line.
When clay sewer lines fail, they can be re-lined, which immensely cuts down the amount of trench-digging and damage to landscaping. Re-lining the sewer main repairs leaks, cracks, and corrosion by forming an entirely new interior lining in the pipe. For customers who want to replace their sewer lines, the most used material today is of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) construction.
How Do I Find a Sewer Leak in My Yard?
If you’re wondering how do I find a sewer leak in my yard, have a look at the ground above your main sewer line. Lush patches of grass, random puddles, strange smells, and gurgling sounds are all signs of a sewer line leak under your home.
Have your sewer line checked by Nick’s Plumbing and Sewer Services expert technicians. We’ll inspect your yard, the interior drain plumbing, and take a look inside your sewer line with our high-definition video camera snake. From there, we can determine if a sewer line repair or replacement is the best answer for your issue.
