Natural Ways to Protect Sewer Lines and Septic Tanks!

If you're a homeowner, it is extremely important to take care of your sewer line system or septic tank to prevent costly damage. Root infiltration is one of the most common causes of damage sewer lines, pipes and septic storage tanks. Over time, sprawling roots from trees and shrubs can make their way through thin cracks and holes in pipes, lines and tanks. Once they've penetrated, they can continue to grow, creating a major blockage that cause unsanitary sewage and waste water to back up into your home...or to leak and soak through the soil in your lawn.

To avoid root infiltration damage, try to avoid planting trees and plants with long root systems or that require a great deal of moisture within the vicinity of your main sewer line or septic tank. These plants will seek out and gravitate toward pipes, lines and tanks. Instead, stick with these sewer and septic safe alternatives.

• Grass: Plain old lawn grass is one of the best (and safest) things you can plant over your septic tank or main sewer line. The roots are very short and grass is relatively easy to care for. Try Kentucky bluegrass or Rye grass, be sure to mow regularly, and treat yearly with a weed-killing formula.


• Perennials: Perennial plants and flowers -- like daisies, daylilies, and poppies -- come back year after year. These plants are a good choice because they are low-maintenance and inexpensive. When planting perennials over a septic tank or the path of a sewer line, lay down topsoil at least six inches deep and cover with a layer of mulch to keep the soil from eroding.


• Wildflowers: Wildflowers also have short root systems that won’t reach deep enough to damage your sewer line or septic system. They provide great color, thick coverage, and a distinct look to any area of your yard. You can purchase individual packets of wildflower seeds in coordinating colors to give your planting structure or choose mixed seeds for a more casual, random garden. Be sure to put down an inch or two of good quality top soil so your wildflower seeds will sprout.


• Septic Tank Mix: Septic tank mix, or prairie mix, is a blend of wildflowers and wild grasses. It’s easy to plant, sprouts quickly, is super-low maintenance, and doesn’t require a bed of topsoil in order to flourish. Septic tank mix is often recommended by professionals because it absorbs excess moisture from the ground and has a very short root system. You can find prairie mix in any lawn and garden or home improvement store.


• Ornamental Grass: Ornamental grasses are also easy to grow and don’t require much maintenance. They tend to spread but don’t grow deep, so there’s little chance of the roots damaging your sewer lines or septic tank. The simplest way to start growing ornamental grasses is to purchase a starter plant in a small container from your local garden center. Once it’s replanted in the ground over your septic tank or sewer line, it should start to spread out within a few weeks. There are plenty of colors and varieties to choose from, making it easy to create a custom look for your home.


• Container Gardens: Most septic tanks need maintenance or repairs at some point. If you’ve invested a lot of time and money planting in this area, you could face a significant loss if the ground must be disturbed. An easy way to avoid this while still adding beauty to your yard is by arranging container plantings over the septic tank. Flowers, grasses and other plants can be potted in attractive containers and set over a layer of pea gravel. That way, if you ever need access to the underground parts of your septic system, you can simply move the containers out of the way until the work is finished.

Repairing and replacing sewer lines and septic tanks can be quite expensive and usually requires digging and tearing up large patches of your yard. Adding these plants can not only help you avoid these costly and destructive repairs, they can also give your yard added beauty and attract songbirds and butterflies.



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Brace yourselves, folks! You're about to go where few men (or women) have gone before...inside your home's main sewer line!

• Call a reputable sewer line contractor. Schedule a camera inspection. It only takes 30 minutes.


• Most obstructed sewer lines can be cleared easily with a simple rooter procedure. It's kind of like an angioplasty for your main sewer line!


• If obstruction and damage to your sewer line is extensive, the sewer line will have to be replaced. Horizon Services uses a state-of-the-art "trenchless" method that allows us to replace your sewer line without having to dig up and destroy your yard, landscape, driveway or sidewalk. And it can be done in less time than conventional sewer replacement.

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• Horizon Sewer & Water Line Replacement Services

Your main sewer line is the largest drain in your home. All other household drains lead into this line which runs underground from your house and connects to a city sewer line or a septic tank. Your home's sewer line might have been placed properly at the time your house was built, but over time, it can become subject to a wide variety of damage, including:

• Breaking, cracking, collapsing due to shifting soil or frozen ground.


• Clogs and blockages due to household waste, debris, grease and foreign objects.


• Corrosion and leaky joints and seals due to age


• Obstructions caused by tree root infiltration.

When your sewer line is blocked or damaged, not only are you at risk for messy flooding throughout your house, you are exposing yourself to leaking sewage...which can contain diseases and hazardous chemicals, as well as serve as a magnet for rats and insects. For the sake of your home and your health, damaged and obstructed sewer lines must be identified and repaired as quickly as possible.

Here are the major signs of a damaged or obstructed sewer line:

• Slow-running or backed-up drains (sinks, tubs, toilets)


• Frequent back-ups of basement drains or laundry tubs


• Gurgling drain noises


• Toilet bowl water levels rise and fall


• Sewage odor inside, outside and around your house


• Raw sewage on ground surface


• Rats or rat holes in your yard


• Sink holes or soggy wet areas on your property


• Water stains around the floor drain in the basement


• Cracking and structural damage along walls, floors and foundations

If you observe any of these indicators, call a sewer line company like Horizon Services as soon as possible. A sewer line technician inspect your sewer line by running a high-tech video camera through the line. It's kind of like a colonoscopy for your sewer line! This will enable him to determine if there is any damage of blockage and to pinpoint its location.

If the problem is just due to a simple blockage, your sewer line technician can cut through the clog with a rooter machine and clear the sewer line down to its inner walls.

If your sewer line technician identifies more serious damage to the main sewer line, it will need to be repaired or replaced. In the old days, that meant digging up your entire yard and destroying your landscape. Today, companies like Horizon Services employ a trenchless method of sewer line repair and replacement that is quick, inexpensive and requires no or little excavation. There are two major ways he can accomplish this.

• Pipe Bursting: With this method, your sewer line technician makes small access holes where the damaged pipe starts and ends. Using your damaged sewer line as a guideline, he uses a hydraulic machine to pulls a long-lasting replacement pipe through the old sewer line path, breaking up the old damaged pipe as it moves into place.


• Pipe Relining: Here your sewer line technican places a fiberglass liner into the damaged sewer pipe -- ie. a pipe within a pipe. This creates a durable, damage-resistant inner wall that restores all flow and function to the line.
  

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• Learn More About Sewer and Water Line Repair and Replacement from Horizon Services!