The Most Common Drain Problems We Find and Why Champaign Homes Are Prone to Them
If you've ever had a slow drain, a recurring backup, or a sewer smell you couldn't track down, you already know how frustrating it is to not know what's going on underground. A sewer camera inspection removes that uncertainty, but many homeowners aren't sure what the camera is actually looking for.
After years of inspecting drain lines across Champaign, Urbana, Savoy, Mahomet, Rantoul, and the surrounding communities of Champaign County, our technicians see the same problems come up again and again. Here's an honest breakdown of what we find most often and why central Illinois homes are particularly prone to each one.
1. Root Intrusion
Root intrusion is the single most common finding on main sewer camera inspections in this area. Tree roots, particularly from silver maple, cottonwood, and willow species widespread in Champaign-Urbana neighborhoods, seek out moisture and follow it directly into sewer line joints.
Clay tile pipe was the standard material in Champaign homes built from roughly the 1920s through the 1970s. It has bell-and-spigot joints every few feet, and each joint is a potential entry point. Once roots find a joint, they grow inward and eventually fill the pipe entirely.
What this looks like in practice: a main sewer that drains fine for months, then backs up suddenly, usually after heavy rain when the water table rises, and root growth accelerates. Rodding clears it temporarily, but without a camera inspection, you won't know how severe the intrusion is or whether the joint is still structurally intact.
Mild root infiltration can often be managed with periodic cleaning and a cured-in-place pipe lining (CIPP) to seal the joint. Severe intrusion at a collapsed joint typically requires excavation and replacement of that section.
2. Broken or Offset Joints in Clay Tile Pipe
Clay tile is a durable material. There are clay tile lines in Champaign that have been in the ground for 80 or more years and are still structurally sound. But clay tile doesn't flex. When the soil around it moves, the pipe doesn't move with it; instead, it cracks, shifts, or separates at the joints.
Champaign-Urbana's heavy clay soils expand when wet and contract when dry. Combined with freeze-thaw cycles every winter, this can create constant low-level movement around the buried pipe. Over the decades, that movement adds up.
Broken and offset joints are most commonly found under and around basement slabs, where the pipe transitions from the soil to the structure. Our technicians locate these precisely by measuring from the nearest cleanout and marking the surface above so any repair crew knows exactly where to work.
A minor crack or partial offset is often a candidate for CIPP lining. A fully collapsed section or a joint with significant vertical displacement will require excavation and replacement.
3. Deteriorated Orangeburg Pipe
Orangeburg pipe was manufactured from compressed layers of wood pulp and pitch and was widely used for drain lines from the 1940s through the early 1960s, a period that covers a significant portion of Champaign-Urbana's post-war housing stock.
The problem with Orangeburg is that it absorbs moisture over time and loses its shape. From the outside, an Orangeburg line might look intact. Inside, it's often egg-shaped, partially crushed, or fully collapsed. It cannot be detected without a camera.
If your home was built between 1945 and 1965 and has never had the sewer line evaluated, there's a real possibility that Orangeburg is present. It's not a matter of if it fails, but when. When we find deteriorated Orangeburg, the line typically needs to be replaced either by open excavation or by pulling a new line through using directional boring.
4. Illegal or Unknown Storm Drain Connections
This one surprises many homeowners. In older Champaign-Urbana properties, it's not uncommon to find floor drains, downspout connections, sump pump discharge lines, or French drain outlets tied directly into the sanitary sewer line. These connections were sometimes made intentionally by previous owners and sometimes were part of older building practices that are no longer code-compliant.
The problem is that when the sanitary sewer backs up, whether from roots, a blockage downstream, or a heavy rain event, it backs up through every connection point. A sump pit tied to the sanitary sewer will fill with sewage during a backup. A floor drain with an open connection becomes an entry point for sewer gas when the trap dries out.
During a camera inspection, our technicians probe every connection point they encounter, locate it at the surface, and document exactly what it is, including whether it's a storm drain, cleanout, or unapproved tie-in. Illegal connections are typically capped or rerouted as part of a repair recommendation.
5. Trench Rot in Plastic Pipe
Trench rot is a term for the deterioration of plastic pipe, primarily ABS and early PVC, that occurs when the pipe is installed in soil with high moisture content, poor compaction, or chemical contamination. The pipe softens, develops weak spots, and eventually collapses inward.
It's most common in lines installed in the 1970s and 1980s, when plastic pipe first became widespread, but installation standards were less consistent. Small-diameter lines under slabs and in crawl spaces are the most frequent location for trench rot findings.
Our small-diameter camera equipment can navigate 2" lines with trench rot present, which matters because it lets us see whether the line still has enough structural integrity for a trenchless lining solution rather than assuming replacement is the only option.
6. Cast Iron Scaling
Cast iron pipe, common in Champaign homes built from the early 1900s through the 1950s, is highly durable but prone to interior scaling over time. Mineral deposits, rust, and root debris build up on the inner walls of the pipe, gradually narrowing the flow diameter until the line backs up even without a discrete blockage.
Camera inspection shows the degree of scaling and whether it's concentrated in specific sections or spread throughout the line. Before a cast-iron line can be relined with CIPP, it typically needs to be descaled to remove the buildup and prepare the interior surface for the liner.
What to Do With This Information
If your home was built before 1980, has large trees near the sewer run, or has had any drain issues in the past few years, a baseline camera inspection gives you a clear picture of what you're working with. Most problems found during inspection have a trenchless repair option, but catching them early is what keeps a manageable repair from becoming an emergency excavation.
Schedule a sewer camera inspection with Lanz 217-394-1380
