FAQs
Sanitary Sewer Lines
Keeping your sanitary sewer line clean, open and in good repair reduces the risk of blockages, a basement backup and raw sewage leaking into the groundwater. Maintaining your sanitary sewer line is simple. Understanding what your sanitary sewer line is, how it works, and contacting CityWide Sewer & Drain Service Corp. is all you need to do. Maintaining your Sanitary Sewer Line is every homeowner’s responsibility.
What is a Sanitary Sewer Line?
Your “Sanitary Sewer Line” is the sewer line that connects your home to the public sewer system. Wastewater from your toilets, sinks, showers, and washing machine travels through your sanitary sewer line to the public sewer main line which carries it to the nearest wastewater plant for treatment.
If your sanitary sewer line is broken or leaking, raw sewage could be seeping into the groundwater. Groundwater passes to your neighbors’ yards, to creeks, to streams, into Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.
What Can Cause My Sanitary Sewer Line To Clog, Crack Or Break?
Blockages are most often caused by excessive buildups of grease (a result of pouring cooking grease and fat down the kitchen sink). When flushed, plastic and other non-soluble materials such as baby wipes, diapers, feminine products, and kitty litter can also get caught in the line and block the flow of wastewater through the system.
Tree and shrub roots that have grown into the line are also a common problem. Sanitary sewer lines installed prior to 1980 in Nassau and Suffolk Counties are primarily made of cast iron or clay and can deteriorate or become brittle over time. Roots seek water and will find their way through cracks and holes causing blockages and further damage. Unfortunately, contractors can also cause damage to sewer lines due to inexperience and improper tool usage.
What Do I Need To Do?
You need to call CityWide Sewer & Drain Service to have your sanitary sewer line inspected. A video inspection camera will be fed through your line so you can view the condition of the line; then your line will be cleaned and cleared of any blockages and repairs made if necessary. This helps CityWide provide you with the most cost-efficient way to repair your line. CityWide is Long Island’s largest and most trusted sewer and drain cleaning company, and for good reason; all work is performed by experienced and Licensed CityWide Plumbers.
CityWide is Long Island’s largest and most trusted sewer and drain cleaning company, and for good reason; all work is performed by experienced and Licensed CityWide Plumbers.
Cesspools
How does a Cesspool or Septic System work?
Wastewater flows from your Residence into the septic tank or main cesspool.
The organic liquid waste floats at the top and the solid waste and inorganic sludge falls to the bottom.
The natural bacteria generated inside the system converts the floating waste into sludge and liquid.
The liquid between the “floating solids” and the “sludge” layers flows into the leaching secondary tank where it drains through the sides and bottom in a cesspool or flows out to the septic field in a septic system.
Why Does a Cesspool/Septic System Fail?
When a septic tank/main cesspool is not properly maintained, solids will build up within the septic tank/main cesspool and eventually push through and into the leaching cesspool(s). This clogs the sand bottoms and can permanently destroy the drainage. Detergents, toilet cleaners, bleach, anti-bacterial soaps, and disinfectants can kill the natural bacteria in the septic system. It is essential to keep the bacteria levels in your system well balanced for optimum performance.
What Should I Do When My System is Full and Requires Service?
If CityWide has determined that the cesspool system is full or requires service, we may elect pumping, aeration and drainage additives as in sulfuric acid to help restore drainage.