If water is not flowing through your drain like it should, you may find yourself facing a dilemma. You have to determine if you need simple drain cleaning or if you need more complex sewer cleaning. Drain cleaning consists of cleaning just the drain that is clogged. This can be done with a snake, an auger, or many people clean their own drains with drain cleaner. Sewer cleaning involves cleaning the drain, as well as cleaning the sewer line that the drain is connected to. Here are a few of the signs that you need more than basic drain cleaning.
Your Clog Happens Over and Over Again
One of the tell-tale signs that you need sewer cleaning instead of basic drain cleaning is you have a clog that seems to happen over and over again. You clean the drains, but the clog comes back, usually within a month. This indicates that you may be dealing with a larger clog down the sewer line, such as a grease clog or roots growing into your sewer line. If you have attempted to clean your drains, and the clog seems to come back, sewer cleaning is needed.
You Know Something Was Sent Down the Drain That Should Not Have Been
Another sign that means you may need sewer cleaning in addition to drain cleaning is that you know something was sent down the drain that should not have been sent down there. For example, maybe your child flushed a toy down the toilet. In these cases, sewer cleaning is needed, or the toy will simply get stuck in the sewer line and wind up causing clogs or a pipe to burst due to the increased amount of water pressure backing up.
It Has Been 18 Months or Longer Since Your Last Sewer Cleaning
The final sign that you may need sewer cleaning in addition to drain cleaning is that it has been 18 months or longer since you last had sewer cleaning done. It is recommended that you have your sewer line cleaned every 18 to 24 months. If you have a clog and need to have drain cleaning done anyways, and it has been this amount of time or longer since you last had your sewer line cleaned, you may as well go ahead and clean the line now.
In some cases, you may need basic drain cleaning if you have a clogged drain. In other cases, you may need sewer cleaning to help free the clog. If your drains are not draining water as they should, contact a sewer cleaning company today. They can help you determine if you need drain cleaning or both drain cleaning and sewer cleaning to help water flow through your drains as it should.