Trees are a lovely feature on any property that you probably feel blessed to have. That is unless they have started interfering with your sewers. In their search for water and nutrients, both young and mature trees can seek out your sewer line and begin to feed off it. Encouraged, they will grow more roots in that direction, until they wrap around the sewer or make their way into it. In this case, your sewers might suffer major clogs and collapses.
The problem is, when you’re standing on your lawn, you can’t see what is going on in the soil. Have your trees found the sewer line, or are you experiencing some other kind of plumbing problem? You don’t have to guess. We can find out for sure with a sewer line inspection, or you can look for these signs that you’re dealing with a sewer root intrusion.
1. Smells Outside
If you’re walking out onto your lawn and you can smell the sewer, that is a very good sign that you have a sewer leak. Unless there is some other reason you could have an aggressive smell on your lawn.
2. Slow Draining
When tree roots are restricting the flow through the sewers, it will take more time for your sinks to drain. If the problem is in one drain, it may just be a clog in that specific drain. But once more than one drain is involved, and especially drains that are lower in the system, it is more likely that you’re dealing with a sewer problem.
3. Drain Back-ups
Back-ups are when water is not just slowly draining out of your sink but is actively pouring back in (from the drain, not the faucet). A backup is a sign of serious pressure on the drain line and needs to be dealt with by a professional right away.
4. Wet Lawn
When the roots have broken into the sewer,all of the liquids will leak out. They will saturate the soil and make it harder for the section of the lawn above it to absorb rainwater or the water from your sprinkler systems. The result will be a wetter lawn than usual. Also, very bad sewer issues may directly spray water up onto your lawn.
You may notice signs of fungal infection, like patches of brown grass, or overwatering, like patches of yellow grass, before you notice water staying on your lawn for too long.
5. Rodents and Insects
Trees are not the only thing that sewers can attract. A sudden abundance of moisture can also attract rodents and insects. They won’t spend all their time on the lawn but may instead take shelter inside your home and head out to the lawn only when they want water. Of course, this means that there could be other things attracting them to the property too.
6. Tree Growth
Have you noticed that your tree is starting to look extra great? It’s grown, or it’s greener than normal? If you didn’t fertilize it recently, this is a strong indication that your tree has found the sewer line.
