Home Inspector Iowa | Home Inspection 563-517-7815
Few first-time home buyers consider sewer inspections before buying homes. They know they should get a home inspection, but sewer lines are almost an after-thought. Yet this is one of the most important inspections a buyer of older homes should conduct because it can turn up numerous problems that can be seriously expensive to fix. The time to find out if a sewer is faulty or needs replacement is before you buy, not after the fact.
All buyers should obtain a sewer inspection if the home in question is more than 20 years old. The line might be fairly new compared to homes built before 1950, but tree roots can still clog it up over 20 years or so, and this is a fairly common problem.
Roots crawl into tiny openings and expand in the sewer line, latching on to other debris, such as grease or eggshell waste. This typically causes backups. Chemicals can sometimes kill the tree’s roots, but the pipe itself might be damaged and require excavation to fix the problem.
Homes that were constructed prior to city sewers being installed often relied on cesspools. Sometimes these cesspools were left intact and connected to the sewer line after cities installed public septic systems. You won’t know unless you have the sewer inspected.
The inspector will insert a snake attached to a small video camera into the clean-out. The snake will maneuver the camera through the sewer, and you can watch the resulting images on a monitor. Not only will the inspector find out if the sewer line is clean or clogged, but the inspection will also disclose the overall condition of the sewer.
The inspector will give a detailed report with a video attached with the findings of the sewer scope inspection. Your report will be available to view in 24 hours or less after completion of the inspection.
Home Inspector Iowa | Home Inspection 563-517-7815