You flush the toilet… wait, it seems to be responding rather slowly. You flush it again and finally, everything goes where it’s supposed to go. You hope. Tapping your chin with your finger, you realize this isn’t the first time the toilet has drained slowly after you flushed. At the same time, you grimace because you know you’re going to have a plumbing repair bill—drain repair in Toronto doesn’t come cheap, especially when you want the work done right the first time.
Potential Causes
Now that you realize your plumbing system is experiencing some issues, it’s time to try and figure out what could be causing those problems. Let’s take a quick run-through of the potential causes:
- Cracked or damaged pipes. If your house is an older one, this is more likely.
- A built-up clog in the sewer line. Yech, this one will be nasty!
- Invasive tree roots. If you take a quick walk outside, look at the tree and roots in your yard. Do they move toward your sewer line? Because everyone flushes, those roots instinctively grow toward your house’s sewer lines.
Drain Camera Inspection
When you call out a plumber who offers drain repair in Toronto, you’ll need to prepare yourself for the result of his findings. Once the plumber completes his (or her) inspection, usually with a drain snake equipped with a tiny camera, he’ll tell you what the situation is.
If he detected root invasion, he’ll probably also tell you whether the pipes are cracked. This is more likely if your sewer pipes are older and made of clay. This can be resolved by removing the clay pipes and replacing them with PVC pipes. If your tree roots have found a ready, frequent source of water, they may have entered into the tiny cracks and be the cause of the problems you’re now seeing.
Symptoms of Tree Root-Related Clogs
No matter what you do you’re likely to experience clogged drains at some point, especially if you have large trees on your property. But you can stop the problem early once you know what the symptoms of tree root-related clogs are.
These include:
- Frequent clogged drains.
- Slow-flowing drains.
- Overflowing drains—this one is nasty.
- Gurgling toilet.
Cutting the Clog at Its Source
Plumbers dealing with drain repair in Toronto have one of several methods available to them. To avoid a drawn-out visit, your plumber may insert a drain liner, which helps to strengthen older pipes. Your plumber will have to dig one small hole into your yard so he can get to the pipe. Once he is inside the pipe, he will push in a resin-fortified pipe, which deposits resin along the length of the pipe.
Pipe bursting is the second method. Here, your plumber busts your old clay pipes with expanders and pullers. The old pipe is pushed out so a new PVC pipe can be pushed into the hole. Ultimately, your plumber may have to replace pipes that have been invaded by tree roots. This can also happen in a french drain that has broken or that has cracks in it. No matter what, when you realize your drains are blocked by something, it’s time to get to the “root cause” of the problem.
