How Often Should I Clean My Sewer Line?

When a drain clogs in your Arizona home, you likely grab a drain snake or a plunger for a do-it-yourself fix.

However, sometimes the problem goes much deeper than your sink or toilet. If you could see underground, you might notice tree roots invading your sewer line.

When tree roots, debris, and grease cake the walls of your sewer line  and impede waste water from flowing, all your drains will run slower, and your floor drains may back up, leaving dirty water in your basement.

Keeping your sewer line clean prevents blockages from forming and saves you from the stress and inconvenience of drain overflow and emergency cleaning.

Arizona Sewer Line Cleaning

At Camcor Plumbing, our team of experts will choose the best cleaning method based on the age and condition of your sewer pipes.

We offer snaking, which eliminates clogs using a cutting tool on a retractable cable, and hydro jetting, which blasts the sewer line walls with pressurized water. We also run a tiny camera through your sewer line to inspect for damage and help determine the safest cleaning method.

How Does Sewer Line Snaking Work?

Snaking has long been the industry standard for unclogging drains. It is the go-to for older, more fragile sewer lines that cannot withstand the pressure of hydro jetting.

An experienced technician, like one of our Camcor Plumbing specialists, can use a snaking machine to bust clogs quickly and accurately.

The machine feeds steel cable into the sewer cleanout in your basement or yard. The cleanout is a capped vertical pipe that, once opened, provides access to the sewer line that stretches from your home to the main municipal sewer line.

Using a Snaking Machine

At the end of the cable is a tool that can cut roots and bust through clogs. Our pros can feel when the cable encounters a clog and cuts through it, even though it is out of sight, deep in the sewer line.

Occasional snaking keeps your pipes clog-free and allows wastewater to flow through your drains, into your sewer line, and out to the sewer main. However, they are less effective than hydro jetting for cleaning the walls of your sewer pipe.

How Does Sewer Line Hydro Jetting Work?

The hydro jetting machine supplies highly pressurized water to a connected hose and nozzle that feeds into the sewer cleanout. Water pushes through openings in the nozzle and moves the hose forward through the sewer line while scouring the pipe clean.

The water not only removes gunk from the pipe but flushes it away!

Enhancing Hydro Jetting and Snaking

A flexible shaft machine is another tool that removes clogs and debris buildup inside your sewer line.

The machine includes a cable that rotates at high speed as it moves through the sewer line. It is particularly efficient at removing tree roots. It can supplement other cleaning methods or operate alone. 

How Often Should I Clean My Arizona Sewer Line?

For most homeowners, snaking or hydro jetting every few years is sufficient. If you have many trees on your Chandler, property and have experienced frequent blockages from roots, maintenance annually or every 18 months will keep your sewer system clean.

Occasional cleaning also prevents other items that inadvertently flow through sink, shower, or toilet drains from clogging the sewer line.

What Can Clog My Sewer Line?

Besides tree roots, pouring grease and fats into your kitchen sink can eventually clog the drain and the sewer line. Refrain from introducing any form of fat or oil that can solidify and cake your sewer line walls. That includes mayonnaise, butter, and even ice cream.

Other substances also clog or damage your drains and sewer lines:

• Drain Cleaners: Chemical drain cleaning fluid is caustic and can corrode your pipes.
• Paints: Avoid pouring paints or cleaning paintbrushes and rollers in the sink.
• Household Chemicals: Do not dump household chemicals such as cleaning liquids, insecticides, weed killers, car fluids, and solvents in drains. Some liquids may be too harsh for your pipes. All these liquids can harm the environment and interfere with wastewater management systems.
• Foods: Keep all foods out of your kitchen drain. Cooked cereals, coffee grounds, rice, pasta, and raw flour are especially tough on drains. The flour can become almost cement-like, and all these food items in sufficient quantities can clog your pipes.
• Toilet Cloggers: Do not flush personal wipes, cigarette butts, food, clumps of hair, cotton swabs, dental floss, bleach, diapers, and anything else that is not human waste or toilet paper.

Benefits of Regular Sewer Cleaning

Regular cleanings extend the life of your plumbing system and help maintain your property value. They also prevent sewer backups, which can significantly damage your property and endanger your health with dangerous viruses, parasites, and bacteria.

If your drains overflow with even a small amount of sewage because of a clogged sewer line, use caution when cleaning up. This Old House recommends wearing protective eyewear, an N95 respirator mask, rubber boots and gloves, and disposable coveralls.

Why risk clogs, drain overflows, and sewer water cleanup when preventative maintenance will keep your sewer line clean and clear of obstructions? Schedule regular cleanings and enjoy a healthy plumbing system!

Schedule Sewer Cleaning Today

At Camcor Plumbing, we provide plumbing, drain, and sewer line solutions to homeowners in Chandler, AZ and surrounding communities. For professional sewer line cleanings, call us at 480-626-4272 or request service online.