How do you tell a sewer line problem from an ordinary clog?
An ordinary clog affects one fixture; a sewer line problem affects the whole house. When the toilet gurgles as the washer drains, water rises in the tub after a flush, or the lowest drain in the house backs up, the blockage or break is in the main line that every drain empties into.
Ordinary clog
- One sink, tub or toilet is slow
- Other drains in the house run normally
- Plunging helps, at least for a while
- No smell outside the house
That is a job for drain cleaning in Seminole.
Sewer line problem
- Several drains slow or backing up at the same time
- Water rises in the lowest drain, floor drain or shower
- Gurgling in one fixture when another drains
- Sewage smell or a soggy, extra-green strip over the line outside
Stop running water and call Ledco Plumbing.
If every drain is slow, no amount of work on one sink will fix it.
What should you do when the sewer backs up into the house?
Stop running water anywhere in the house, keep people and pets away from the sewage, and call Ledco Plumbing at (405) 257-3096. While the main line is blocked, every gallon that goes down any drain comes back up at the lowest opening in the house.
- Stop the waterNo flushing, showers, laundry or dishwasher. Tell everyone in the house.
- Skip the drain cleanerChemicals will not open a main line and leave caustic water for whoever opens the pipe.
- Find the cleanoutA capped pipe sticking out of the ground near the foundation or in the yard. Say where it is when you call.
- Photograph the damageTake pictures before cleanup starts, in case you file a claim with your insurer.
Why do older Seminole sewer lines break?
Older Seminole sewer lines break from age, roots and ground movement. Many homes built during the late-1920s oil boom and the decades after went in with cast-iron or clay-tile sewer pipe, which corrodes, cracks and pulls apart at the joints, and roots grow into any gap they find.
Roots are the most common reason a line keeps backing up. A sewer pipe carries warm, wet, nutrient-rich water, and a hairline crack or loose joint lets a little of it escape. Fine roots follow it in, thicken inside the pipe and catch everything that flows past. Clearing them opens the line, but the gap they came through is still there.
The ground matters too. The clay soil common around Seminole drains slowly and holds water against the pipe. Over decades, settling ground and the weight of wet soil can crack a rigid pipe or let a section sag into a low spot, called a belly, where waste settles and backs up.
Every drain in a house, from the kitchen sink to the last toilet, empties into a single sewer line. When it fails, all of them back up together.
| Pipe | Where you find it | How it fails |
|---|---|---|
| Clay tile | Older homes; short sections joined every few feet | Roots enter at the many joints; sections crack or shift |
| Cast iron | Homes built before plastic pipe became standard | Rusts from the inside, scales up, and splits along the bottom |
| Orangeburg | Homes from roughly the 1940s to the early 1970s | Made of tar-soaked wood fiber; softens, blisters and flattens out of round |
| PVC or ABS plastic | Newer homes and replaced lines | Rarely corrodes; fails at bad joints, from crushing, or where it sags |
Which sewer repair does your line need?
The right sewer repair depends on what is wrong with the line. A blockage needs clearing, a single cracked, root-broken or sagging section needs that section replaced, and a line failing along its length needs replacing. The plumber should see the line first, because clearing a broken pipe only buys time.
| Problem | Signs | Usual repair |
|---|---|---|
| Blockage | Backup that clears once the line is opened and stays clear | Clearing the line; see drain cleaning |
| Roots at a joint | Backups that return weeks or months after clearing | Clearing the roots, then repairing the joint they came through |
| Cracked or broken section | Backup that will not clear, sewage smell, soggy ground over the line | Digging at the break and replacing that section |
| Belly (sagging section) | Recurring partial clogs at the same distance down the line | Re-laying the section so it slopes toward the sewer |
| Failing along its length | Breaks in more than one place; collapsed Orangeburg or badly corroded cast iron | Replacing the line from the house to the main |
How does Ledco Plumbing handle a sewer line repair?
A sewer line repair with Ledco Plumbing starts with finding what is wrong and where along the line, then pricing the repair that fits. Once you approve the estimate, the damaged section is repaired or replaced and every drain in the house is run to prove the line flows.
- Get the line flowingIf the house is backed up, the first job is to open the line so you can use your plumbing again.
- Find the cause and the spotBlockage, roots, a break or a belly, and how far from the house it sits.
- Approve the repairYou see the price for the repair that fits the problem before any digging starts.
- Repair and run every drainAfter the repair, fixtures throughout the house are run together to confirm the line keeps up.
More on everything Ledco Plumbing does is on the Seminole plumbing services page.
Why call Ledco Plumbing for sewer line repair in Seminole?
Ledco Plumbing handles both drain cleaning and sewer line repair, so a backup that turns out to be a broken pipe is not handed to someone else. The Seminole company is owned by Mickey Ledbetter, you approve the price before any digging, and the office takes calls every day.
- Clearing and repairThe company that opens the line can also fix the break.
- Price before diggingYou approve the estimate before the yard is opened.
- Open every dayMonday through Sunday, 7 AM to 5 PM.
- Based on E Oak AveServing Seminole and Wewoka from 316 E Oak Ave.
Will Ledco Plumbing come out for a sewer backup?
Ledco Plumbing takes sewer backup calls by phone every day of the week, 7 AM to 5 PM. A backup should always be a phone call rather than a web form, so the office hears about it right away. The answer below covers what to tell the office when you call.
What are your hours?
Ledco Plumbing is open 7 AM to 5 PM, 7 days a week, and a sewer backup should be a phone call, not a form. Call (405) 257-3096, tell the office which drains are backing up and where your sewer cleanout is if you know, and keep everyone in the house from running water until the line is open.