You may be bothered by a gurgle you hear coming from a section of your pipes. While there are a host of reasons that it can happen, the main indication is that you have a blockage in your hands. Though partial obstruction is a more common occurrence, hearing this sound can be a significant sign that you have a worse case on your hands that can cause pipe damage, leaks, and noticeably slower flow.
Here are some of the main issues that can be causing such an occurrence.
- Clogged Sewer Line
Things can get tricky when your sewer line gets backed up, and that can cause overflow that can bring some nasty gunk into your home and produce a constant foul smell. It is usually from a build-up of sewage and objects that shouldn’t be in your plumbing, even possibly caused by roots piercing their way into your sewer line. Repair experts from Salt Lake City, Utah, have noted that it is one of the more pressing plumbing concerns one can face, yet it can be easily avoided with consistent cleaning.
A sewer line can be costly to repair if the damage is extensive, and you’ll know the severity of your situation by hearing that ominous gurgling. That is because it acts as the main pathway, and when it is clogged or blocked in some way, it affects the other pipes and messes up their flow, causing them to gurgle.
- Obstructed Plumbing Vent
A variety of things can obstruct your ventilation pipes, and that can prevent them from effectively sifting air out of the system. It is important to not only avoid any unseemly smells from wafting into the home but also to have space for air to flow up and not disrupt the flow of water in the rest of the pipes.
When a foreign object blocks it, then the water and air will mix into the same pipe and cause the gurgling you may hear. This sound is essentially your alert that there are ventilation problems that will spell a slowing or even full stop of water flow throughout your plumbing if left unfixed.
- Congested drains
This issue is, more often than not, a symptom that comes from human error. As people flush objects they shouldn’t flush and pour debris down sinks, it can cause clogs that end up pushing water out of other drain pathways and resulting in leaks and flooding.
There are also instances where the drain itself becomes congested because of foreign objects in the mainline, fundamentally affecting these by a domino effect. If it’s something like a root that has rammed through the drains, it may be necessary to do a complete replacement. Repairing indoor pipes is more manageable to DIY, but if the main source connects outside, it may require more extensive work.
With proper care and maintenance, this situation doesn’t have to be a recurring problem. If your pipes are gurgling, it’s best to pinpoint the source and figure out the extent of damage so that you can fix it or get some professional help. As recent data shows that one in ten American homes suffers a plumbing leak, it may not be a far-off necessity to check your system.
