When we think about possible
plumbing emergencies, the usual suspects crop up, such as the kitchen, the bathroom and perhaps your water heater. All these areas in your home are prime candidates for a plumbing emergency, but they are not the worst. As bad as any plumbing emergency in the home could be, they pale in comparison to your yard. Why is that? Let’s find out how plumbing problems in this overlooked area of your home can cause havoc.
What is Hidden in Your Yard?
Having a yard is a fantastic additional benefit to owning your own home. It can be used for gardening, a playing space for kids and a place to hang out with friends and family. There is another aspect of the yard that most people are unaware of, and that is the pipes that lead into your home. Underneath the grass and soil in your yard, you will find pipes that supply clean water and pipes that remove waste. A problem involving these underground pipes can be a real pain to fix due to their location. If ignored these problems only get worse, the whole yard can be affected, and it can even cause health problems.
A Broken Sewer Line:
Let’s start with probably the worst plumbing problem that you could experience in your yard. A broken sewer line will cause filthy waste water to seep up into the ground above and eventually it will reach the surface. This will kill your lawn, any fruit or vegetables that you’re growing will be inedible, and your yard will smell terrible. Broken sewer lines usually occur because a tree root has encountered and then broken into the pipe. This is an awful situation to try and rectify, and it is definitely beyond the pay grade of a DIY hobbyist to fix. A good plumber may be able to repair or replace the affected pipe without digging up your entire yard. This risk of this situation can be minimized by planting any new trees well away from your house. A good plumber can check if any existing trees could become a problem, if this is the case, the pipes could be moved, or the tree could be removed.
Inadequate Drainage:
Granted this isn’t a major problem in California, but it is possible that excessive rainfall over saturates the grass in your yard. A buildup of too much water will kill a carefully tended lawn, but that is just the beginning. Excess water can also damage the foundation of your house, and that could mean huge repair bills down the line. Some warning signs to look out for, are: sagging driveways, cracked concrete paths and excessive surface water. If necessary, it is possible to install a drain in your yard that will catch any excessive water runoff.
Check Your Sprinklers:
For the busy gardener, sprinklers can be a godsend, but they can also cause problems in your yard. We all like a lush lawn, but a broken sprinkler system could actually damage your grass due to overwatering. Leaking sprinklers will also use more water driving up your water bill. Simply check your sprinkler system weekly to make sure everything is working fine. If there is a problem, it may be a simple fix to replace or tighten the sprinkler heads. If the problem is more serious, a
professional plumber should be able to help.
By Giovanni Longo President Flood Brothers Plumbing
Giovanni Longo is a 3rd generation master plumber who has been practicing his craft and trade in the greater Los Angeles area for well over a decade and a half. A plumbing and hydraulics-engineering innovator, Giovanni’s particular world-class expertise focuses on dealing with challenging sewer system designs as well as resolving complex commercial and residential draining issues. As a certified Flood Mitigation expert, he is also well versed in a wide variety of water damage and remediation solutions.
