As you make exciting plans for the year ahead, you should also include steps to ensure your sewer line stays in top shape. Your sewer line is the main pipe that carries all the wastewater from your home to your septic tank or out to the municipal sewer system. When it works, you do not even think about it. But when it clogs or breaks, the result is a massive, expensive and unpleasant plumbing emergency that everyone wants to skip. Since keeping your main sewer line healthy is all about adopting simple, mindful habits, let us look at the top ways you can protect it this year.

The Golden Rule: Nothing but Waste and Paper Down the Toilets

Your plumbing is designed to handle only two things from the bathroom: human waste and regular toilet paper. This is specifically manufactured to dissolve quickly in water. You must never flush items, such as wet wipes (even the ones labeled “flushable”), paper towels, cotton swabs or dental floss. These materials do not break down and are the leading cause of internal clogs.

Winning the Battle Over Kitchen Grease

The kitchen sink is a major battlefield for your sewer line because of grease and oil. When you cook bacon or fry foods, the grease is hot and liquid. So it seems easy to pour down the drain. However, as soon as that grease hits the cool sewer pipe walls, it quickly hardens into a sticky, waxy substance.

This hardened grease sticks to the pipe walls and behaves exactly like flypaper, trapping all sorts of debris that pass by. At some point, this causes blockages that can create serious backups. Pour cooled grease into an old can and let it solidify completely. Then throw the can into the trash.

Keeping Roots Away From Pipes

If you have trees or large shrubs in the yard, you must check where those plants are located in relation to the main sewer line. Tree roots are constantly seeking water and nutrients. They are incredibly good at finding and invading even extremely small cracks in your sewer pipes.

Once roots enter the pipe, they grow and catch all the solids that flow by. This causes a devastating clog that requires professional cutting and, sometimes, pipe repair. Therefore, if you are planning any major landscaping changes this year, be sure to plant large trees a safe distance away from where your main line runs.

In addition to following these tips, your final goal should be to schedule a professional inspection. This will allow a plumber to look inside your sewer line using a special camera to check for hidden problems. If the plumber finds anything wrong, they will work with you to fix it before anything becomes catastrophic, and it costs a lot of money to fix. To get the year started right, call Harmon Plumbing Services, Inc. to schedule a sewer line inspection for your Durham, NC home.