Plumbing & the Great Outdoors

By Bill Aldridge

In the dark days before plumbing was invented, the bathroom was synonymous with the great outdoors.  Now that we have the modern convenience of indoor plumbing, most people don’t give the great outdoors much of a thought.  But maybe they should.  The reason I say this is due to the fact that a fair proportion of the plumbing issues we are called upon to solve involve situations caused by factors outside of the home.  Below are some examples.

Root Intrusion

The reason so many people live in the suburbs as opposed to the big city is for the fresh air and greenery.  The only problem is that green things like shrubs and trees have roots that run deep. If you think an oak tree is big, you should see their root systems.  While the roots are used to provide the nutritional requirements of trees, they are also preprogrammed to search for any source of available water.  It’s this love of water that makes root intrusion one of the primary reasons that sewer lines clog, sometimes partially and sometimes completely.  This is why it is important to call out your friendly neighborhood plumber before a slow sewer becomes a stopped sewer.  We have the tools to inspect and correct root intrusion before it ruins your day. 

Leaf Litter

Autumn is the time of year when leaves fall from the trees.  It is also a time of the year when converging cold fronts come together to create heavy rain as they pass through Jacksonville.  Put the two together and you the formula for a disaster of biblical proportions.  Leaf litter tends to clump together, clogging gutters and drains.  As anyone who works around water knows, if it can’t find the shortest way to exit a building or parking lot, it will make some other arrangement.  This means backups and flooding, either of which can be expensive to remediate.  So rule number one to keep this problem from causing damage is to make sure that gutters and drains are kept free of leaf litter.  Depending upon the amount of trees you have in your yard you may need to clear them out several times in the fall and winter

Critters

While most people as a rule do not live with wildlife, sometimes wildlife decides to move in with them.  Small animals such as squirrels, raccoons and the occasional opossum have been known to set up housekeeping in or near homes, sometimes blocking a drain or vent in the process.  Even nesting birds can clog up the works, particularly in vent stacks that need to remain open in order for your plumbing to perform its job properly.  They have also been known to clog up downspouts as well.  I have also known fire ants to nest in leaf litter that has been left untended for too long.

Wear and Tear

Believe it or not, simple wear and tear on outdoor fixtures and pipes are rampant in the winter months.  Even though we don’t see the kind of weather extremes that they do up north, the occasional hard freezes that we do experience take their toll as pipes, faucets sprinkler lines and hoses contract and expand, sometimes resulting in cracks that tend to foster leaks.   My advice to homeowners is to check all their outdoor faucets and sprinkler system at least twice per year (Spring and Fall) to make sure that they are all functioning properly and that there are no noticeable defects.  Also this is an excellent time to also inspect your sewer cleanout to prevent potential sewer backups. (see video above)

The bottom line if you hope to keep your home free from the ravages of the great outdoors is to take the time to do a little preventative maintenance twice per year.  And thank your lucky stars that you don’t live in the part of the country where bears, cougars and coyotes reside.  Because it takes more than the services of a plumber to resolve those issues.

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