Sewer and Drain Repair Blog for Arizona Homeowners

Quick answer: A sewer lateral is the underground pipe that carries all of your home’s wastewater out to the city sewer main. In most Phoenix-area cities, the homeowner is responsible for it, often all the way to where it joins...

A sewer cleanout is a capped pipe that opens into your home’s main sewer line. Plumbers and sewer crews use it to run a camera or clear a clog without going through a toilet or sink. On most Arizona homes...

Quick answer: Calcium buildup in pipes is a hard, white crust that forms inside water lines and drains. It comes from the minerals in hard water, and Phoenix water is hard. Over time the crust narrows the inside of the...

Quick answer: A sewer scope inspection is a camera check of the buried pipe that carries waste from a house to the city sewer. A small waterproof camera on a long cable goes into the pipe, and the video shows...

Quick answer: A kitchen sink clogged on both sides means the blockage is past the point where the two basin drains join, in the shared drain line. A plunger rarely reaches it. The usual cause is cooled grease and food...

Quick answer: Clay sewer pipe is made in short sections joined end to end, and those joints are its weak point. Over time they crack, shift apart and let tree roots in. A camera inspection shows the damage, and in...

A sewer smell in your house after summer is usually a dry drain trap. Arizona heat evaporates the water seal in unused drains, letting sewer gas up through the pipe. Run water in every drain for about a minute. If...

Sewer line maintenance in the fall means clearing buildup and fixing known weak spots before Thanksgiving, when your drains are about to carry far more grease, food waste, and water than usual. In the Phoenix Valley, October and early November...