One of the things I’ve run into over the years is that people can put sewer problems off longer than they should — and sometimes it gets really ugly.
The worst-case scenario I’ve seen is when a landlord refuses to fix a sewer line and lets it go to the point that sewage backs up in the backyard for months. It turns into a nasty mess. And that kind of situation didn’t have to get that far.
Why this come up with rentals
A pretty big percentage of the business really is rental houses. And with rentals, you sometimes get a situation where the owner isn’t the one dealing with it day-to-day, so they don’t feel the urgency the same way.
But when a line is failing, it doesn’t care who owns the house. The problem keeps progressing.
The warning sign people dismiss
If a sewer line has backed up more than once a year, or even once every two years, that’s not normal. A sewer line backs up because there’s an underlying reason. It’s old, it’s got roots, it’s made out of the wrong material — something is going on.
A lot of people get used to calling a drain cleaner to come out and clean the line. Some people even assume it’s normal to have it cleaned out every couple years. I don’t agree with that. I’m in the sewer replacement business for a reason — the goal is to replace the line so you don’t have to keep cleaning it every year.
What happens when it finally fails
When the sewer line fails and somebody can’t get it open with a snake, the house basically shuts down. Bathrooms are closed. Nobody can use anything at all.
People have to run somewhere else to use the facilities, or get a hotel, or leave the house. That’s why sewer line failures don’t feel like “maintenance.” They feel like a crisis.
If you’ve had repeat backups, treat it like a signal. Even if you don’t do anything immediately, find out what your line is made of and what’s likely causing the backups. The more you understand now, the less likely you are to get forced into a decision on the worst possible day.