Signs Your Sewer Line May Need Repair

One slow fixture is usually a branch line. The signs below suggest the main sewer line is involved, which changes both the diagnosis and the work required.

Several fixtures at once

When a toilet bubbles as a tub empties, or two fixtures slow together, they are sharing a restriction downstream rather than each having their own.

Blockages that come back

A line cleared in spring that blocks again by autumn is pointing at a defect the clearing did not address.

Odour without a backup

Sewage smell in a basement with drains that appear to work can indicate waste standing in the line or gas escaping through a defect.

Ground clues outside

A sunken patch, or unusually lush growth in a line over the sewer run, sometimes indicates water escaping the pipe below.