Signs of a Sewer Clog

By Bill Aldridge

If your home is more than 30 years old then chances are that it has a cast iron sewer line.  While these old warhorses of the plumbing industry had their time and place, the problem is that iron rusts.  This means that over the years these lines begin to degrade and will inevitably clog, necessitating the kind of intervention that takes a backhoe and can leave your yard looking like the trenches systems of WWI.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that the entire repair should take no more than a few days by a licensed plumbing company and you don’t need to start tearing up the yard until you see obvious signs of a backup.

The bad news is that once the line does begin to clog you definitely don’t want to stick your head in the sand and assume that the problem will go away.  If anything it will quickly get worse and worse until it is all but impossible to empty a sink or flush a toilet without the water backing up.  In fact, the toilet is one of the first signs you will usually see of an impending problem, since it has a direct path to the sewer and is connected to one of the biggest lines in the house.

Other systems in the bathroom such as the bathtub and shower will also quickly become unusable in the event of a sewer stoppage and no amount of plunging will fix the problem.   However, it doesn’t hurt to check to see whether the tub drain is clogged, especially if there are no other obvious signs of a backup elsewhere.  See the video below to learn how to fix this problem.

Other symptoms of a blockage can include one or more of the following:

1.      When you flush the toilet water comes up in the bathtub.

2.      When you are using the sink next to the toilet, air bubbles start emanating from the toilet.

3.      When you run the dishwasher or the washing machine, the toilet overflows.

4.      A persistent gurgling sound that occurs after you use the washing machine or dishwasher.

5.      Foul odors emanating from more than one sink.

While these symptoms could be signs of other problems, such as air being trapped in the system or a blockage somewhere in the system, if the toilets are not functioning properly then you should definitely call in a plumber.  If you have a main line clean out, you can check for a clog by opening the clean out and visually inspecting for any water or waste that could be collecting there.  If water is either standing in the pipe or water comes out of the pipe the moment you remove the cap, then you definitely have a main line blockage.

Having a blockage does not necessarily mean that the sewer has collapsed or is irretrievably blocked.  Just like your household plumbing, sewer lines that have become blocked can sometimes be cleared with a sewer drain snake.  All manners of things that shouldn’t be flushed down the toilet but are, including diapers, toys and the occasional towel can form a clog that needs to be cleared out by a professional.  Tree roots can also find egress into lines that can eventually slow and even stop the flow of water. 

Even if the sewer itself does become compromised, requiring replacement, this is still cheaper than letting the system back up to the point where water and/or raw sewage backs up into the home which will entail even more costly remediation after the sewer line is replaced.  The best way to avoid any worst case scenario is to call in a licensed plumber as soon as you detect any potential backup.  The earlier you catch a backup, the easier it is to isolate, identify and remedy.  Waiting will only run the risk of creating a problem that can only be solved with heavy machinery and a crew.

Bill Aldridge is the Doctor of Plumbology at Aldridge and Sons Plumbing in Jacksonville. Florida.  For more helpful plumbing tips and how-to videos, go to http://aldridgesonsplumbing.com