There’s so much going on underneath the ground that we never even think about, and we’re not talking about the lives of worms, insects, and other animals. There are pipes and cables that are connecting your home to the rest of the world, and it’s important to keep those lines safe so that you’re not losing your connection. Here are the reasons to know where everything is before you dig.

What Plants To Plant: We wrote an entire blog about what trees you need to avoid if you don’t want your sewer pipes and water lines being inundated with the roots. But it’s also important to avoid plants that might wrap around shallow telephone and cable lines, pulling them out of the ground and exposing them to the blade of your lawnmower or weed eater.

Where Not To Dig: We often hear about “calling before you dig” because of electric and gas lines. But it’s also important to know where not to dig so that you’re not disrupting your neighbors connection to phone and cable, which are carrying their internet. You’ll become very unpopular in the neighborhood if you knock out half of everyone’s internet!

Where Not To Lay Concrete: Sometimes there’s a space next to the driveway that’s either grass or gravel, a nice place for people to park during a party. If you’re considering laying concrete there and making it a permanent parking space, it’s important to know if you’ll have to rip it up if there are pipes and electrical wires under that space that need replacing in the future.

So, how do you find out what’s going on under your yard? Call 811 or visit http://colorado811.org/ to get your utilities located. And when you need sewer cleaning, give Garvin’s Sewer Service a call!

“I’ll take the center square to block…my sewer pipes.”

In previous posts we told you about the problems of planting trees directly over your water and sewer lines, because eventually the roots are going to get in and you’re going to need repeated sewer service. But there are some trees that are going to cause you exponentially more problems because of the way their root systems work. You also need to be aware that the older your sewer system is, the more likely that the roots can get in.

If you’re considering planting some trees in your yard, be sure to avoid putting these particular varieties anywhere near pipes. We’re not saying that you shouldn’t plant these trees if they’re some of your favorites. But you do need to take extra precautions about placement to make sure that they’re not over any sort of water line.

Willows: Willows are perhaps the best-known of the sewer-destroying trees. Their roots are very aggressive and will do whatever they can to get into the joints of your water pipes or sewer lines. The worst offenders are the very popular weeping willow and the corkscrew willow, but just about anything in the Salix species of trees and shrubs will end up causing you problems.

Poplars: When you think of poplars, you probably think of the tall, fast-growing trees that are often planted in straight lines as windbreaks or to provide privacy While slow-growing trees will go deep in order to get to groundwater, trees like poplars have shallow root systems and would rather dig into a pipe than go any deeper. Interesting fact: cottonwoods are in the populus family.

Silver Maple: While they are fast-growing and turn a lovely shade of orange in fall, these trees can be big problems not only for your sewer lines but also for your sidewalks. On top of that, they aren’t very strong trees, so they’re more likely to topple during a storm or drop a branch onto your roof. If you really want a silver maple in your yard, plant it far away from your house and from all sewer and water lines.

American Elm: Along with the Siberian Elm, the American Elm is the most popular elm tree planted in Colorado. Like the trees mentioned above, the shallow roots don’t head much further down than a water-filled pipe, and once they dig into that there’s no reason to go any deeper.

We’re guessing that, after reading this article, you’ll be pretty careful about putting any of these anywhere near your sewer lines. But if you’ve moved into a house and you’re experiencing slow drains and toilets that drain cleaning just doesn’t seem to fix, you might want to look at the trees in the yard and see if they’re any of the offenders we talked about. It might not be your fault, but it is your problem. Regularly-scheduled rooter service might be a good idea in order to keep everything running smoothly and prevent sewer backups. Contact Garvin’s and we can make sure you continue to love the trees in your yard.

As you can imagine, we’ve gotten some pretty frantic calls over the years. People who have sewage blocking their toilet. People who have sewage flowing up out of their toilet. People who have sewage actively shooting out of their toilet. All of the people who called had a perfectly valid reason to be frantic!

When we get these calls, we suit up, grab our equipment, slide down the firepole (we don’t have a firepole, but DANG! we should get a firepole!) and race to your home as quickly as the law will allow. When we get there, we’ll dive right into the situation, but in order to help us find the cause of the problem it’s important that you tell both the person who takes your call and the technician we send as much as possible, no matter what problem you’re having. Basically, we need to know as much as you do. So we’d like to offer this advice.

Try To Be Calm: We understand that you’re in the middle of what is probably the worst experience of your year (we see a lot of people’s worst experiences). But the more calm you can be, the more information we can get out of you in a timely manner and the sooner we can get to the root of the problem.

Give Us The Background: Be sure to tell us exactly what’s been happening. Has the problem with your plumbing been going on for years, or is this the first time you’ve ever had an inkling of a problem? When was the last time you had sewer cleaning performed? Is Garvin’s the only company you’ve called to help with your sewer service, or have others had their go at it this year? Tell us everything you know, because even small details about how your sewer system has been acting can be important.

Tell Us Your Habits: It might be embarrassing, but it’s important for us to know exactly how you treat your drains and sewer lines. You might be embarrassed to tell us that you pour your bacon grease down the sink and flush your feminine hygiene products, but it’s important for us to know because it might alter the tools we use and the decisions we make. On a related note…

Be Honest: It’s important for us to know what you’ve already tried. If we’re there for drain cleaning, it’s critically important to let us know if you’ve already tried a chemical drain cleaner. We have had drain technicians scarred by drain cleaners that were sitting in the drain, even after the customer had insisted that no cleaners had been used. For our own safety and yours, please let us know about anything dangerous that might be in your drains.

Stand Back!: Once you’ve filled us in, stand back, ‘cause we’re gonna get to work! We’ll be protected from the situation with eye and face protection, rubber boots, and clothing that is specially disinfected once we leave. We don’t want you to have to deal with the stuff that can make you sick, so be sure to get some fresh air and find your insurance agent’s phone number.

When you call Garvin’s, you’ve called the sewer drain experts, so make sure that you give us all the information you can. We’ll make this terrible experience as easy as possible for you.