The sewer system is something most homeowners don't think about until there's a problem. Toilets, sinks, showers, and bathtubs may stop draining altogether. Or worse, sewage backs up into these fixtures creating an awful mess. For a homeowner this is an incredibly helpless feeling, but if you pay attention to clues, you can recognize sewer problems early and deal with them before the worst occurs. For instance, if one drain in the house becomes clogged it's probably a localized problem. But if several household drains are draining slowly, that's a strong sign that the clog might be in the main sewer itself. Consider your home's age. Use of modern plastic sewer pipes in new construction did not become common until the late 1970s. Because plastic pipe is fused together tightly with solvent cement, it is almost impossible for tree roots to penetrate the pipe joints as long as the pipe has not been damaged. But older sewer pipe materials, such as clay, concrete, orange-burg, and even iron pipes become very susceptible to root intrusion through loose joints, stress cracks, or damaged sections. Tree roots search the surrounding soil for moisture and nutrients. Your underground sewer pipe is often the path of least resistance so roots are drawn right into old sewers. Once tree roots work their way inside the pipe, they will grow steadily. Tiny feeder routes will spread out like a net and begin to catch toilet paper and waste, gradually forming sewer clogs. With no way to drain, sewage from the pipeline could back up in the bathtubs and sinks. An experienced technician with the Roto-Rooter sewer cleaning machine can cut away the tree roots and debris. The spring-loaded spinning blades scrape away roots right down to the pipe walls, leaving the pipe razor clean so your sewer will drain freely again. Once drain pipes are professionally cleaned, you can keep them clean longer with regular applications of a bio enzyme-promoting product like Roto-Rooter Pipe Shield, and a root growth inhibitor like Root-X or Root Destroyer, which can be flushed down a toilet to kill roots in your sewer without harming the trees and shrubs. For the toughest clogs, especially in commercial and municipal sewers, Roto-Rooter uses high-pressure water jetting equipment which can blast through most any obstacle then scrub away grease and debris leaving the pipe as clean as the day it was installed. Roto-Rooter sewer cleaning equipment is the best available and it's highly effective at clearing clogs and restoring flow to just about any sewer pipe. But as good as it is, even a professional cleaning is only a temporary solution if a sewer pipe has holes or other damage. Sewers are designed to be a sealed system. As long as roots can get into a pipe they will continue to cause damage. As they grow thicker, they gradually force joints apart and can even break the pipe itself. This slow but powerful force can move pipes in much the same way that surface tree roots push up sidewalks and driveways. Holes and leaking pipe joints allow water and sewage to pour out of the sewer and into the surrounding soil causing it to erode. As the soil washes away, the pipeline may lose structural support causing misaligned pipe sections and even more clogs and backups. But even if the worst occurs and your sewer has experienced complete failure or structural collapse, Roto-Rooter can handle spot repairs or even full sewer line replacements right away. We even offer trenchless sewer replacement and relining services that won't destroy lawns, landscapes, sidewalks, or driveways. And Roto-Rooter uses fiber optic cameras to inspect sewer pipes and pinpoint the exact cause of stoppages without any guesswork. Our state-of-the-art professional tools allow us to show our customers every detail in their sewer line before digging. This allows us to provide our customers with as many options as possible in solving their specific sewer problem. Whatever trouble you're having with the sewer or drain, the sewer solutions experts at Roto-Rooter are ready to help. [Roto-Rooter jingle]