Video inspections of sewer lines can reveal damage to the sewer that would otherwise conceal unsafe conditions. Without a video inspection, you could be living with the silent threat of a broken sewer line. Even though your sewer line is buried in the earth, you may not be safe from the gases emanating from it. Why? How can a buried sewer line place my home at a health risk?
The correct assumption is our sewer lines are buried in the earth to keep them out of the way. No harm comes to the sewer line and therefore, the sewer line contains the sewage and sewer gases that would otherwise make us sick. However, the condition of the buried sewer line and where it is in relation to the building are what need to be taken into consideration.
The video above is from a sewer line video inspection. If this sewer line were running beneath your basement floor, or alongside your basement wall, you would have sewer gas bleeding into your home. Or, from the amount of moisture leaking from the sewer line, you would have heavy bacterial issues, along with mold and mildew.
Sewer lines in this condition are a lot more common than you would think. Causes for damage range from poor settling of the soil, uneven fill, improper grading, or a shift in the soil.
In New England, and other parts of the country, where there normally are no earthquakes, there are tremors and shifting in the earth that are not known by many people, other than the National Geological Survey. This is where a lot of damage comes from.
You may even have a sewer line that was not properly installed and sealed. One such incident is in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. The man lived in his home for a long time and never had an issue. One day, there was water in his basement, seeping through the wall and down onto the floor. This man’s sewer line was in the earth, but close enough to the foundation that a leak produced water which made its way to the foundation and drained to his basement. What was interesting, upon video inspection of the sewer line, it was discovered there was a wye fitting and the branch side was not capped. When the sewer line backed up, the sewage had nowhere to go but into the earth and bled to his basement wall.
Video inspections are a good idea. They give peace of mind to the homeowner. If there is a problem, attention is paid to it before it becomes a serious health hazard. A video inspection grants time to prepare for an excavation or whatever the means to repair the pipe.
The next time you have a plumber, sewer, and drain cleaning service in your home, pay for the extra fee of having a video inspection performed on your main sewer line.