Buying Time vs. Fixing the Problem:
When it becomes more cost effective to perform a sewer repair rather than sewer maintenance.
Is drain cleaning a long term solution for sewer lines that back up?
No. Mechanical snaking and hydro jetting are maintenance solutions designed to clear soft blockages and hair-thin roots; but won’t repair structural defects, can can actually make them worse in some situations.
If your residential lateral has a belly, structural fracture, or heavy root intrusion, recurring cleanings only buy temporary time while the underlying pipe damage worsens. Paying a few hundred dollars each year might just delay the inevitable, and getting it fixed permanently could save you a lot of money in the long run.
The Hidden Risk of Repeated Root Cutting
Many homeowners in older Colorado Springs neighborhoods attempt to manage tree root intrusions by hiring a drain technician to snake the line annually. While this temporarily restores wastewater flow, it creates a false sense of security. After replacing hundreds of sewer lines over the years, it’s clear that repeated and frequent cleanings are not risk-free.
- The Band-Aid Effect: Mechanical blades and high-pressure hydro jetting tools can only cut the roots growing inside the barrel of the pipe. It doesn’t address the roots sitting in the cracks, waiting to come right back
- Root Thickness Expansion: Over time, the roots left outside the pipe continue to mature and thicken. Acting like a wooden wedge inside a split log, these expanding roots slowly push the old clay or PVC joints apart.
- Accelerated Structural Failure: As the cracks widen, wastewater leaks out, washing away the surrounding soil. This hollows out the ground beneath the pipe, causing the line to lose its structural bedding, drop its downward grade, and can ultimately collapse. Not to mention, it is a major health hazard.
- Line Degradation: In Orangeburg lines (commonly used throughout the southern parts of Colorado Springs) repeated cleaning can slowly thin out the walls of the pipe or chip off the ‘blisters’ that are notorious for forming at the bottom of these lines, making it easier for roots to come in or increasing the likelihood of a collapse. Having pipe-bursted and repaired orangeburg lines throughout Security-Widefield and the Springs, these lines are notorious for building up quickly and even collapsing unexpectedly.
When to Stop Snaking and Start Replacing
If you are forcing a mechanical cutter down your main sewer line more than once a year, it is just delaying the inevitable. Continuing to run aggressive cutting blades through a fragile, cracked pipeline increases the risk of punching a hole through the pipe wall, and which could trigger a collapse and blockage, resulting in a backup into the home and needing an emergency repair.
It is recommended to also have your line scoped before and after a cleaning to check for potential issues to address before they become a costly emergency.
Before cleaning: look for offsets or breaks that could be made WORSE by running a cutter or hydrojet through the line
After cleaning: look for breaks or offsets that were covered up by roots or debris that could indicate a more permanent repair is needed.
While a cleaning may seem cheaper in the short term, permanent repairs done proactively can end up saving you hundreds or even thousands of dollars compared to waiting until it becomes an emergency. Here is why:
- Having a contractor pull a last-minute emergency permit for certain types of repairs can cost you significantly more
- Overtime inspections that CSU has to do on the repairs (late afternoons or weekends) can be several hundred dollars more than a normally scheduled one, especially when certain repairs (like those involving asphalt or concrete repair in the right-of-way) require multiple inspections
- The best and most reliable contractors are usually booking jobs 1-2 weeks in advance and can’t always guarantee that they can move their schedule around for an emergency. Waiting to the last minute could mean you may not end up with a top-quality company…
If you want to be proactive and schedule an inspection, here are a few of our trusted sources to evaluate your sewer line:
Joe Frei Excavating (shameless plug): 719-447-1114
Mainline Services: 303-596-5803
https://www.mymainlineservices.com/colorado
Arrow Drain Cleaning: 719-651-8072