How long will your main sewer line last?

Home sewer mains are built to last a long time. Today, most house lines are made from PVC pipe. If you’ve never heard of PVC pipe before, you’re not alone. PVC stands for polyvinyl chloride, and this polyvinyl chloride pipe is sincerely built to last. If your sewer line is built with polyvinyl chloride or PVC pipe, it will likely last 100 years.

However, if your home, and therefore your main sewer line, was built before 1980, it was most likely built with clay pipes. Clay pipes last much less time than PVC pipes. Clay pipes last only 50-60 years.

However, the lifespans of these two types of pipes are only estimates, so there is a chance that you may have to replace your home’s sewer system sooner than the 100-year or 50-60-year projected lifespan of pipes. PVC and clay pipes.

There are a few ways to tell if your home’s sewer system will need to be replaced before its estimated useful life. One way to tell if your sewer line needs replacing is to go out on your lawn and see if you smell anything out of the ordinary. When sewer main lines age, they become brittle and crack. When pipes become brittle and crack, the sludge that flows through the pipes day in and day out begins to slowly seep into the top soil of your lawn. When this mud begins to creep up to the top of your lawn, it will create foul-smelling sinkholes. If you see these sinkholes, you definitely need to call a plumber to have your main sewer line checked before the problem gets worse.

Another example of a sign that your main sewer system may need to be replaced will happen in your own home; in your bathroom on that! If you’re getting ready for your work day and you start hearing something interesting coming from your toilet, you may have a serious problem. The sound will be like a strange gurgling coming from your toilet, and if you hear that noise, you need to call a plumber quickly, because your main sewer line may be failing.

Be on the lookout for either of these two signs that it’s time to replace your sewer system because it’s best to spot this problem before it catches you and ruins your day!