One of the most common needs for professional help with Plumbing in Lansing MI involves a blocked sewer pipe. The most recent object flushed down a toilet may technically have caused a sewer backup, but the problem usually has a more fundamental underlying cause. Older underground sewer pipes typically are made of clay or concrete, as these materials are very strong and don’t corrode. However, they can develop tiny cracks that allow tree roots to enter when those roots are attracted to fertilizer and water in the sewer system. In addition, joints between lengths of pipe also are susceptible to this problem.
Flushing toilet paper usually doesn’t cause issues with roots in the pipe unless those roots have accumulated extensively. But people tend to flush other things that don’t dissolve. When items like feminine hygiene products and dental floss are flushed, they can become tangled up in the roots, eventually forming a significant blockage in the pipe.
Professionals who do Plumbing in Lansing MI still use the old-fashioned snake equipment that winds down the pipe, breaks up the clog and cuts the roots away, so the pieces head to the municipal sewage system. They have the more modern technology available now too. High-pressure water jetting, also known as hydro jetting, is sometimes a safer way of clearing away roots and the debris that has become stuck in them.
Sometimes, the root issue becomes chronic enough that the homeowner essentially has two choices. One is to hire a service such as Minuteman Sewer & Drain Cleaning to clear the sewer pipe on an annual basis as a preventive measure. Unfortunately, even that is no guarantee on a property with big trees that have large root systems and an underground sewer pipe that has numerous points of entry. Professional drain clearing services historically have excavated the property to dig up and replace the sewer line, but that is very disruptive to the landscaping. A newer strategy is hydro excavating, which allows for more precise targeting of the problem area. Water and suction are used to remove soil, rather than the traditional excavating and digging equipment.
