Leak Detection Guide
One slow drain is usually a local clog in that specific fixture's pipe. Several drains slowing down at once — across different parts of the house — points to a blockage or leak further down the line, in the shared sewer pipe that all of them eventually drain into.
A persistent sewage odor, rather than a brief smell after flushing, suggests sewage is escaping the pipe somewhere rather than being fully carried away. Outdoors, the same smell near the yard often means the leak point is underground on your property's line.
A section of grass that's noticeably greener, faster-growing, or consistently damper than the rest of your lawn — with no other explanation like a sprinkler head — can mean sewage is leaking underground and effectively fertilizing that specific area.
Gurgling when you flush a toilet or run water in another fixture happens when air is trapped and pushed back through the system, often because something downstream — a clog or a leak point — is disrupting normal flow.
Since sewer lines often run near or under the foundation, a leak in that area can, over time, erode supporting soil in a similar way to a water supply slab leak — leading to cracking that seems structural but actually traces back to the sewer line.
Sewer lines run underground for long distances, which makes guessing at a leak or blockage location impractical. Camera inspection lets a technician see the actual condition of the pipe — root intrusion, a crack, a collapsed section — directly, rather than inferring it from symptoms alone.
