Sewer & Drain · Nashville, TN
Drain and Sewer Leak Detection in Nashville
Leaks in drain and sewer lines found with camera, dye and smoke testing, before they rot a subfloor or wash out the soil under a slab.
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Tell us which drain is backing up
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Drain and Sewer Leak Detection in Nashville, Tennessee
Leaks in drain and sewer lines found with camera, dye and smoke testing, before they rot a subfloor or wash out the soil under a slab.
For drain and sewer leak detection, Nashville's Sewer and Drain works across Middle Tennessee — licensed, insured, with the price in writing before the work starts. Drain and sewer crews who clear the stoppage first, then put a camera down the line and show you what caused it.
Why homeowners call
Signs that bring people to us for this
- Sewage coming up a floor drain
- Every drain in the house slow at once
- Gurgling toilet when the washer drains
- Sewer smell in the yard or basement
- A soggy, sunken strip over the sewer line
- Roots back in the line every year
- Sump pump running and running
What is included
What our drain and sewer leak detection work includes
- Camera run looking for open joints and cracks
- Nontoxic smoke pushed through the drain and vent piping
- Dry traps and separated vent joints found by the smoke
- Dye flushed one fixture at a time
- Under-slab drain plugged and water-tested for drop
- Wet soil, rot and washout noted at each leak
- Leak points marked on the floor or ground
- Repair options set out for each leak found
How Drain and Sewer Leak Detection goes, from cleanout to final pass
Drain and sewer leaks behave differently from a water-line leak. Drain pipe isn’t under pressure, so it doesn’t hiss, turn the water meter or run all day. It leaks only when something drains, a little at a time, which is why these leaks can go on for years before a sagging floor or a smell gives them away.
A smoke test is the fastest way to trace a sewer smell. We seal the system, blow nontoxic smoke into it and watch where it escapes: a cracked fitting, a floor drain whose trap has dried out, a vent pipe that separated inside a wall, or a broken line under the yard. Smoke gets into places a camera can’t.
Under a slab, the test is water. The drain is plugged at the cleanout with an inflatable test ball, filled to a marked level and watched. If the level falls with nothing running, the slab drain is leaking, and plugging at different points narrows down where. A slow drain leak in Middle Tennessee clay can soften the soil and open a void under the slab.
Crawl-space homes give their leaks away more plainly: a wet patch of soil under a toilet flange, a dark stain on the joists below a tub, a soft spot in the subfloor. Dye flushed down one fixture at a time shows which drain is at fault, so the repair goes to the right joint and the rest of the run is left alone.
Also available
Other sewer, drain and septic work
Sewer Camera Inspection
A camera run the length of the lateral, recorded, with the distance to every defect read off the cable counter.
Learn moreSewer Scope Inspection
A pre-purchase scope of the house you are buying, with the video and a plain written finding in hand before closing.
Learn moreSewer Line Locating
A transmitter on the camera head traced from the surface, so the line and its depth are marked on the ground before anyone digs.
Learn moreService area
Sewer and drain calls we take across Middle Tennessee
Our trucks reach Nashville and 100 more towns in 12 counties, and we take sewer and septic calls anywhere within about an hour of the city.
FAQ
Drain and Sewer Leak Detection: what people ask first
Why does my house smell like sewer when nothing is backed up?
Most often a dry trap or a broken vent or drain pipe. A floor drain or a shower nobody uses loses the water in its trap and lets sewer gas through, and pouring water down it fixes that. If the smell stays, a smoke test pushes smoke through the drain and vent pipes and shows exactly where gas is getting out.
How do you test for a leaking drain pipe under a slab?
With a water test. The drain is plugged below the suspect section with an inflatable test ball, the line is filled to a marked level, and we watch it. A drop with nothing running means water is leaving through a crack or a separated joint, and moving the plug narrows down where. A camera then shows what the leak looks like.
What is a dye test for a drain or sewer line?
Colored dye flushed down one fixture or drain at a time while we watch where it shows up. Dye that appears on the ground in the crawl space, in a wet spot in the yard or in a ditch tells us which drain is leaking and roughly where. It is also how we check whether a downspout or sump line was tied into the sewer.
Can a leaking sewer pipe damage my foundation?
It can, over time. A drain that leaks under a slab or beside a footing keeps the soil wet and can carry fine soil away with it, leaving a void that lets the slab or footing settle. Middle Tennessee clay also swells when wet, which adds movement. Finding the leak early keeps the repair a pipe job.
Free estimate
Book drain and sewer leak detection with our crew
Call or write to Nashville's Sewer and Drain with what the drains are doing; we clear the line first and price any repair from the camera footage.