First of all, why is a sewer backup so serious? The reason you should call a plumber immediately if you suspect a backup in your main sewer line is because contaminated water may endanger your family and cause expensive repairs.
Why sewer backups happen
As the term implies, sewer line backups involves dirty water and sewage being clogged in pipes. Sometimes the cause in inevitable like tree roots growing around them or inside or your pipes simply wearing out.
However, you can prevent sewer backups by not flushing feminine products, pouring grease down the kitchen drain, and by pulling the hair out of your shower drain.
The two main parts of your plumbing system are the water supply and waste disposal. What prevents waste from being disposed of properly is a sewer line backup. To help you avoid this issue and recognize when it’s happening, here are a few warning signs to watch out for in your home.
Backed up drains, toilets, or showers
If one of the causes does occur, a common sewer backup warning sign is water not draining properly in your bathtubs, showers, sinks, or toilets. Plumbline Services explains that “if more than one drain is slow moving, gurgling, smells bad or has water backing up, you most likely have a main sewer clog.”
Also, if using either the toilet, bathtub, shower, sink, or washing machine causes something else to back up with water, then you have a clog.
Liquid draining from sewer clean out
If sewage is draining out of your sewer clean out or sitting inside, then you most likely have a main sewer clog in this scenario as well.
Located at different points on the lateral sewage line, “the sewer clean out is a pipe with a cap that provides access to the sewer line so that blockages can be removed,” according to Scott English Plumbing.
Floor drain is clogged with sewage
Similar to the sewer clean out, if any floor drains are clogged with dirty water or sewage, your family’s health may be negatively affected by a backup.
Even if you can’t see sewage in a floor drain, you’ll usually be able to smell it as it builds up.
If you notice any of these warning signs for a sewer backup in or around your home, then give us a call! This is a job for expert plumbers and it’s not worth putting your family in danger to wait another day.