Sewer cleaning is needed when the waste water from the home will not flow from the house to the sanitary sewer or septic tank.

There are a number of reasons that sewers plug up.

The most common cause would be due to tree roots growing into the sewer line.

Abusing the sewer will often cause the line to plug up. A good rule of thumb is nothing but human waste and toilet paper should ever go down the sewer.

Other blockages could be caused by the normal rusting and scale of cast iron pipe or excessive kitchen grease.

Physical flaws such as a low spot in the line (often referred to as a belly), an offset tile, or the worst case scenario, a broken or crushed tile, can cause the sewer to back up.

Most of the above problems can be solved by a routine cleaning/snaking of the sewer.

This is accomplished by running a cable (snake) down the sewer. This cable is generally turned by an electric motor. A cutter is installed on the leading end of the cable to cut through obstructions.