For many homeowners and businesses, the hardest plumbing problems to deal with are those that happen outside the building. Not only does outdoor plumbing tend to be out of sight and therefore out of mind, but because it is exposed directly to the elements, outdoor equipment faces a number of different risks that indoor features are protected from. It is therefore, imperative that you have professionals inspect your exterior plumbing on a regular basis and immediately deal with any issues, no matter how minor. The Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain team in Denton, Texas has extensive experience with outdoor plumbing, and will quickly detect and resolve any problems.
Common Outdoor Plumbing Issues
The specific issues you will deal with outside depend on what kind of outdoor equipment you have. The most common commercial and residential problems include:
- Frozen Pipes- Don’t be fooled by the Southern atmosphere— Denton County gets cold in December and January! Whereas indoor heating insulates interior pipes from freezing temperatures, outdoor pipes have no such protection, making constant vigilance a necessity during the winter. Check your pipes daily for ice, repair any that freeze immediately, and consider installing insulated tape or heated cables on outdoor equipment.
- Clogged Downspouts- Leaves, debris, and other materials frequently block downspouts. The more of your downspouts become clogged, the greater the risk to your building of flooding and water damage. It’s thus essential that you inspect your downspouts for clogs at least once a month and clean out any that you find.
- Faucet Issues- Outdoor faucets face the same problems as indoor ones, and often experience them at a greater rate due to exposure to the elements. Leaks are a particularly serious problem with outdoor faucets because you are less likely to notice them at first, allowing them to flood your yard and drastically increase your water use.
- Sewer Line Damage- A broken sewer line leads to leaks, water damage, and a variety of other problems for both indoor and outdoor plumbing. The Roto-Rooter team uses a trenchless sewer line repair method, which allows us to fix the problem without damaging your yard.
Detection, Inspection, & Repair
Early detection is the key to success in outdoor plumbing; the sooner you notice a problem, the less time it has to spiral out of control. You must survey your yard on a daily basis, looking for the telltale signs of plumbing problems. Large clumps of leaves and sticks in your gutter indicate downspout issues, wet grounds portend a leaky faucet or sewer line, and moist pipes suggest a broken or outdated seal. Interior plumbing issues can also betray an exterior issue. If your indoor faucets keep getting backed up, for example, that indicates that the sewer line is broken. Any of these issues should be a wake-up call that something could be seriously wrong with your plumbing.
Once you’ve detected a problem, the next step is to inspect your plumbing in depth. This is sometimes as simple as examining a pipe until you find a crack or broken piece, but more complex issues call for a professional inspection. Roto-Rooter uses camera line inspection methods to record the interior of your plumbing in detail, surveying pipes that are underground, run through concrete, or are otherwise inaccessible to the human eye. Our waterproof cameras transmit an image of your pipe in real time, allowing us to quickly diagnose your plumbing problems and devise a solution.
After the inspection is complete, you should repair your plumbing as quickly as you can. As with the other steps, you can repair simple problems on your own, but the more complex the issue, the more important professional repairs are. As a rule of thumb, if you needed a professional to diagnose the problem, you need one to fix it. Roto-Rooter repairs all outdoor plumbing problems in Denton County. We take care to disrupt your yard as little as possible, fixing your pipes and faucets without affecting the beauty and value of your property.