How To Tell Your Sewer Line Is Leaking

Buried deep underground, your home’s sewer line pipe carries wastewater and sewage from your property to a treatment plant or septic system. If the line develops a leak, it can cause significant damage such as:

• Health risks from bacteria, viruses, and other harmful microorganisms.
• Property and structural damage, including corroded pipes and damaged floors, walls, and belongings contaminated with backed-up sewage. It can also cause the soil near the leak to develop sinkholes.
• Environmental damage is caused by toxins and pollutants that make their way into the groundwater and soil.

While a professional sewer line camera inspection is the quickest way to determine if there’s a leak, you can take several simple steps to identify one or more potential leaks. These tasks don’t require tools, and you should be able to complete them in an hour or less.

Checking Your Sewer Line: A Step-By-Step Guide

Unsure where your home’s sewer line connects to the main? In most cases, it’s located where the main sewer pipe exits the house, but it’s occasionally found in:

• The basement or crawl space
• The front yard, which is where you can identify it by its round or square access point (often called “the cleanout”)
• Under the street in front of your property

If you still can’t locate the line, it’s best to contact your sewer utility or a licensed plumber for assistance.

Once you’ve found the line, you can begin your investigation.

Step 1: Check for Odors

Sewer leaks give off strong, unpleasant odors caused by sewage, mold, and mildew. Check your home’s walls, including in the basement, for a foul smell that many people compare to rotten eggs.

You can also sniff various drains, sinks, and toilets throughout your house and the outdoor cleanout. If the smell is strongest near drains, that’s a reliable sign you have a leak.

Step 2: Check for Pests

Are you suddenly noticing an increase in cockroaches, flies, or silverfish in and outside your house? Bugs, rodents, and other pests are all drawn to sewage leaks.

Look for pest droppings in the basement, crawl space, and near the sewer cleanout. You can also check for the gnaw marks rats and mice typically leave on pipes and wires. Look for signs of rat and mouse nests, including in your attic.

Step 3: Check Your Lawn

If your lawn has puddles but it hasn’t rained recently, the pooled water might be caused by a sewer line leak. You might also notice new, lush patches of grass, or the ground might feel spongy when you walk on it.

Other self-tests you can conduct include:

• Listening for running water when no appliances, faucets, or toilets are in use.
• Checking drains for slow drainage or blockage.
• A simple dye test where you add a few drops of food coloring to some water and put it in a sink or toilet. See if the colored water shows up in the cleanout or any other area outside the drain.

Choose Mattioni for Sewer Services

If you discover a sewer line leak — or even if you don’t but still suspect something’s not quite right — your best course of action is to contact a licensed plumber for diagnosis, repair, or replacement services.

For over 75 years, Mattioni Plumbing, Heating, & Cooling has provided Chester County, PA, homeowners with professional sewer line services, including sewer line cleaning and clearing, sewage ejector pumps, and sewer line repairs and replacements. We also offer septic tank services. You can always rely on our skilled plumbing team to handle every type of sewer job professionally and quickly!

Looking for reliable, responsive sewer line services delivered by trained, professional plumbers? Call 610-400-8510 to schedule water heater services!