Different Types of Main Sewer Line Material
Have you ever wondered what type of main sewer line you have at your home? Probably not. If your home’s plumbing and drain lines are all working well, it’s not a question most people seek the answer to. But, if you need to have your main line cleaned a couple times or more every year due to back-ups, it is a good idea to figure out if there is a larger issue going on. Knowing what type of material your sewer line is built out of could be determined by a camera inspection. A camera inspection can also identify if your pipe has any issues such as extreme scale and corrosion, heavy roots and debris, breaks, bellies, back-pitch, collapse.
Most older homes in the Twin Cities area that were built prior to the 1950’s have a clay sewer pipe, a cast-iron pipe or a fiber conduit pipe called Orangeburg. Beginning in the 1950’s and until the 1970’s, clay and cast iron were still being used, and piping made from an asbestos-cement product called Transite was also an option. Before we knew the dangers of carcinogens like asbestos used for Transite and lead-poisoning, sewer lines were also constructed out of lead. New or newer homes constructed since the 1970’s tend to have plastic sewer pipes called PVC or ABS.
Clay Sewer Pipe: Vitrified clay pipe is still a viable pipe used today and can last up to 50-60 years. Clay is highly resistant to chemical degradation, but it is porous, so it is more susceptible to invasive tree root growth.
Cast Iron Pipe: One of the best things about cast iron is that it is immensely strong and can survive 75-100 years. One of the worst things is that they are prone to scale build-up, rust and corrosion.
Orangeburg Pipe: Orangeburg pipe was used from the 1860’s until the early 1970’s and typically lasts or lasted only a few decades. They were constructed out of wood pulp/fibers bound with adhesive and lined with a liquefied coal tar pitch. If you still have an Orangeburg pipe, chances are it has deformed or deteriorated.
Transite Pipe: Original Transite or AC (asbestos-cement) pipes had 15-20% of asbestos fibers added to a cement base to provide tensile strength, and it is relatively resistant to corrosion. If you have a Transite line, the technology today to repair/retrofit these lines has greatly improved.
Lead Pipe: Prior to the serious findings that Lead piping adversely affects your health, this type of material was commonly used in homes built before the 1930’s and has a sustainability of around 100 years. If you have a Lead pipe, please consider replacement as a break or blockage can leach lead into the groundwater and/or into your basement.
PVC Pipe: Polyvinyl Chloride (typically a white pipe) is most commonly found in new and newer homes. It is a cost-effective choice, is highly resistant to chemical degradation, has a smooth interior which is ideal for the carrying capacity of solid waste matter and the plastic material helps prevent root growth.
ABS Pipe: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (always a black pipe) is also used in new and newer homes since the 1970’s. ABS is another cost-effective choice, it is a bit stronger than PVC and has the same smooth finish, it will not flake/peel, rot or dissolve. It’s an ideal choice for underground use with our colder climate.
If you are curious about your main sewer line’s material, need to investigate a potential issue with your main line if you are having frequent back-ups or unusually wet areas in your yard, please reach out to Ken’s Sewer Service today.
Do you garden?
At work we had some time to finish up our garden project. If you look at the neighbor we also had weeds all the way up to the top of the fence. There we’re several steps but we finally finished and now we hope the grass will grow. After days of weeding, removing dirt, tilling, pulling out the old tarps that were located in the ground we got to the best part today which was watching the seed get watered.
Let us know, do you have an outside garden project this year? if so, what is it?
Have you ever planted seed before and did it grow or did you have another product that worked better?
Does your Garbage Can Stink?
Today I finally had some time to clean our residential garbage can and make it look nice and clean.
Does you’re garbage can stink?
Does you’re garbage can have bugs crawling all around it?
Does you garbage can attract unwanted animals?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions you should take twenty minutes out of you’re day and clean you trash can before you have icky smells and unwanted animals lingering around your property.
On a side note, would you pay someone to clean your trash can?
Ballvalve Cracked
In the life of a plumbing and drain cleaning business we see pictures like the above almost on a daily basis. When this happens outside a property it becomes less of an emergency but is still crucial to repair in a timely manner. But when a valve breaks like this inside a house you can expect a flood of you aren’t home or don’t notice this. Many times it happens when at work or when on vacation. The problem is you never know when the next pipe may break.
Knowing who you can call in case of an emergency is sometimes the best you can do.
Maintenance Is Key
Huge tree roots in main sewer line
Tree roots that grow in sewer lines is a serious issue and should be dealt with and maintained as often as each line may need. The above picture isn’t what drain companies should pull from one’s sewer line. Property owners that have sewer lines with major root growth sometimes get lucky that excavation is not needed. Having a sewer line repair can cost thousands of dollars you may not have or want to spend.
Call a drain cleaning company for any clogged drain you may have and especially if you’ve just moved in to a new home. Just because a drain is flowing, doesn’t mean the condition is in good shape.
Object in Toilets caused a clogged drain
Toilet Object in Drain
It’s always fascinating to see what our company finds from unclogging toilets each and every day. I don’t understand why people flush debris down a toilet that doesn’t belong. In the picture above we found a plastic cup. Why would someone think it would be an intelligent idea to flush a cup. Either way Ken’s Sewer Service is here for you weather you have a clogged toilet or have a basement that is flooding. Call us for all your plumbing and drain cleaning needs.
It is time for back to school shopping?
Back to school shopping each year should be fun and exciting. If you dread going to get new clothes and school supplies it’s a bummer from the start. When going back to school, make it fun and make sure you have a check list so you don’t leave anything out.
Sewer line tree roots
One thing most people forget to do is cleaning their sewer lines. This summer has been an all time high for excavating main sewer lines. What homeowners need to understand is that new clothes and supplies might cost several hundred dollars depending on how many kids you have, but repairing a small section of broken sewer pipe already puts you at $2500 and up.
Call Ken’s Sewer Service today to remove your tree roots 952-929-4146
We look forward to hearing from you!
St. Louis Park, MN local 24 Hour Plumbing Company
Going through all the pictures of tree roots our company Ken’s Sewer Service pulled out from sewer lines, this had to be top 5.
Roots also known as “tree roots” grow in sewer line weather you want them to or not. There is no way to get rid of them. By not maintaining your sewer line and cleaning your sewer system yearly roots will grow thicker and bigger. Eventually tree roots will break though your drain pipe and end up costing you major pocket book money to replace your sewer line.
This root our company pulled from a clients sewer line was over 5 feet long. This is one of many roots this size we extracted from clients sewer lines this past year. We keep many pictures of impressive roots to show our clients what our company is capable of pulling out of sewer lines. Clients are always amazed and surprised what’s inside their sewer lines. When our company diagnosis a sewer line with our camera technology, clients love seeing whats growing and living inside their line.
St. Louis Park Drain cleaning & Plumbing is what our company thrives at.
Ken’s Sewer Service installs, repairs and unclogs any and all drains.
We look forward to hearing from you!
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