Most homeowners have experienced a temporary blockage or sluggish drains in their plumbing. Minor blockages often can be cleared with a plunger.  

Cooking grease, hair, food particles, toilet paper and roots often cause sluggish drains or line blockages. If they happen near the drain opening or toilet bowl, a plunger may be effective in clearing them.  However, if the problem is some distance into a drain line, it may require a plumber to locate and resolve. 

Eliminate Water

If you have a blocked or stubborn drain, the first thing you want to do is reduce or eliminate the water you put in the lines to minimize the amount of damage you may do. Obviously, if you keep flushing a slow-moving toilet it will overflow the bowl and damage your floor.  

Washing machines can create one of the biggest problems when your drains are running slowly. Washers use 15 to 20 gallons a load. This water could back up into toilets or showers, possibly causing overflow damage.  It is relatively easy to find out if the blockage is in the house drains or in the sewer lines.

Check Your Cleanout

First, check the cleanout next to the house to see if it has water in it. If it contains no water, then you know the blockage is somewhere in the house plumbing.  If there is water standing in the clean out, the blockage is most likely in the line from the house to the main sewer line.

If there is a cleanout near your property line you should contact the Public Services Department at 803-441-4240, technicians will be dispatched to investigate the problem.

If there is no cleanout at the property line and water is standing in a clean out on your property, you should also contact the Wastewater Collection Division.

Never put grease or oil, eggshells, coffee grounds, etc. down the drain. Similarly, avoid flushing disposable diapers or feminine hygiene products into the system. These items can build up in and clog your house piping and possibly the main in the street as well, creating major problems.

Signs of a drain blockage:

• Slow draining fixtures

• Back up of multiple fixtures at home at the same time

• Using some fixtures impact others (i.e. flushing a toilet backs up sewer from the shower or while the washing machine drains, a nearby toilet overflows)

• Water is visible, flowing or overflowing on the exterior sewer vent

Common causes of sewer blockages:

• Years of built-up grease and grime

• Foreign objects flushed down the toilets

• Tree roots invading broken pipes

• Broken or dislocated pipes

• Age of pipe

• Flushing products labeled “flushables” that are not dispersible. (disposable wipes and diapers, sanitary napkins, paper towels, contraceptive products, kitty litter, etc.)

Each home or commercial building has a separate connection to the public sanitary sewer main called a sewer lateral. It is the property owner’s responsibility to maintain and repair their own sewer lateral from the house up to the point of connection with the public sanitary sewer main. This includes both the portion on private property and the portion located beneath the sidewalk and street up to the point where the lateral connects to the public main. The drawing below illustrates the difference between a sewer lateral and the City's main collection line.

Troubleshooting

• Please be aware of where your sewer lateral is located

• Check to see if clean out is overflowing

• Check to see if tree roots are possibly causing blockage