Last week an inspector from the Homeowners Club came to check out a leaky toilet, and discovered, to my horror, that we might have a leak in our sewer line. Not good.
To put this in perspective, our house is set up high off the street, with a large, landscaped rockery along the front of the house. To access the sewer line would require a backhoe and a lot of cash, all uncovered by insurance. The one good thing, at least, with today's technology, they can investigate this problem without digging a single tablespoon of dirt.
The next day, the guy from Metropolitan Sewer arrived with this contraption that brought back a flood of unpleasant memories from my days as a pharmaceutical sales rep, where I was privileged enough to watch real people having long tubes shoved up their rear-ends in the name of medicine. I swear, this procedure on my toilet was identical, but without the writhing pain and Versed chaser (midazolam) to erase the memory.
First, he removed the toilet itself to gain easy access to the sewer line. Then, he started uncoiling this hose-like tube with a camera on the tip, which allowed us to see, in clear resolution, every nook and cranny of my sewer line. Cool. As the camera descended, we learned that the line was plastic within the house itself, smooth and surprisingly clean, then changed to clay outside. He slowly fed the tube through the line, checking every square inch for signs of erosion, roots, or anything else that could compromise the integrity of the structure.
Finally, about 20 minutes later, he declared, "well, you never have to see me again." I tentatively asked if that meant it was all fine, afraid to assume, because you know what happens when you assume....
YES! He gave our sewer line a 100% thumbs up. Apparently, many sewer lines are made of concrete, which erode over time and generally cause headaches for the homeowners. The clay lines are much more durable, and once we determined that it was in perfect condition, meant we were set for a long, long time.
In my mind, upon hearing the good news, it felt like someone put a big check in my pocket. Shopping, anyone?
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