Twin Cities Clogged Drain Cleaning
If you are a new home buyer, whether it is for the first time or you have already had the experience, you should know that the older a house is, the bigger gamble it is. There are many homes that, when given the proper care, can last for years and look great. However, the unfortunate reality is that while the actual house was given proper care, it is unlikely they paid the same attention to the aging sewer lines.
While a house inspection is essential in older homes, it will strongly behoove you to invest in a separate sewer inspection as well. Sewer lines are something we don’t think of until we absolutely need to, and when we “need to” often translates into when it will already be expensive to fix.
Problems an Old Sewer Line Can Have
Most home buyers aren’t extensively well-versed in all the problems that can manifest in a sewer line. However, if you are buying a house that is more than 20 years old and hasn’t had the sewer lines replaced or inspected before, it is best to get an inspection to check for any one of these common old sewer line problems.
Tree Roots
No one sees them coming, but tree roots can be as widespread as they are invasive. Furthermore, they naturally seek out wet spaces for nutrients and moisture, something your sewer line has in spades. It can take as little as 20 years for tree roots to break in and invade a sewer line. Once they get in, they will flourish. Unfortunately, a tree root doesn’t just slither along the bottom of a sewer line. It would be almost harmless if it did. Instead, tree roots expand in an effort to trap the water moving through for further growth. They form into very much a drain pipe-shaped clog that will continue to expand until they completely block and likely rupture a sewer line.
Corroded Pipes
Even modern pipes have an expected expiration date. However, that expiration date is much further out than that of older pipes. This is not just because of they are newer, but we have begun to use much sturdier materials when it comes to plumbing. The primary issue with the sewer line of older homes is that they likely were never replaced, meaning they could still be chugging along with easily corroded older pipe material. Depending on the area you live, those old pipes could be made out of everything from cast iron to clay, neither making for very good sewer line material in the long term.
Clogs
If the old home you are interested in has never had the sewer line inspected or replaced, then there could very well be a few potential clogs forming. It is only rather recently that people learned not to flush anything besides toilet paper and waste down the toilet. Think of all the things that could have made their way into the sewer lines before you got there.
Need Help? In A Mess, Call SOS!
Your standard home inspector won’t usually do a video inspection of the sewer lines. That is something you need to call a professional out to do. However, it is a discovery that can make or break a home purchase, since the prospect of replacing the sewer line after purchase will be expensive. However, a video inspection grants full color video where your inspector can point out any and all potential problems. If you are buying an older home or already live in one, contact us today to see what SOS Drain & Sewer can do to help you with all your sewer problems.
