Topics
Clogs & warning signs
Gurgles, smells, slow drains and how lines get cleared. 9 items, each with key facts and sources.
- Seven signs the trouble is in the sewer line, not one drain
One slow sink is a fixture problem. Several drains failing together, or water coming up at the basement floor drain, points to the pipe every fixture shares.
- A gurgling toilet usually means air is moving the wrong way
The bubbling sound comes from air forced through the toilet's water seal. A blocked vent, a partial clog or a failing main line can all cause it.
- Main sewer line clog: what to do in the first hour
Stop all water use, leave pressurized plugs alone, keep people away from the sewage, and make sure nobody cuts a clog outside the house before a camera has looked.
- Hydro jetting or a cable machine: how sewer lines get cleared
A cable (rodding) machine cuts and breaks up a blockage; a jetter washes the pipe with high-pressure water. Pipe material and buried gas lines decide which is safer.
- Cooking grease is a sewer line problem that starts at the sink
Fats, oils and grease poured down a kitchen drain cool and coat the pipe. EPA says that buildup can block private laterals as well as street mains and cause basement backups.
- Wipes and the sewer: what goes down the toilet and what doesn't
A "flushable" label does not mean a wipe breaks down in the pipe. EPA and FEMA both tell households to keep wipes and sanitary products out of the toilet.
- Chemical drain cleaners: label rules and the mixes to avoid
Lye and acid drain openers burn skin and eyes, and mixing them with bleach or another cleaner can release toxic gas. Read the label, use one product, and never pour into a fully blocked main.
- Why drains back up after heavy rain in older Westchester neighborhoods
Rain gets into sanitary sewers through cracked laterals, roof leaders and sump pumps, and in Yonkers through combined sewers. When the pipes fill, sewage looks for the lowest drain.
- Where a water softener drains, and the air gap the code requires
New York's plumbing code says a softener's discharge line ends in open air above a trapped drain, never sealed into it. The gap size and where it can go.