Among the worst things you can have to deal with as a homeowner would be a sewer backup. Sewer backups occur when an impediment or some sort of damage prevents wastewater from flowing throughout your lateral sanitary sewer line. This line is the main sewer line is the connector from your home to the municipal sanitary sewers. If there is an obstruction, waste water will continue to fill your sewer drains and drain pipes until it eventually overflows. Trust us, it is not a pretty site.
What Clogged the Sewer?
The most common source of sewer backups is a clog on your sewer line. This prevents wastewater from flowing out to the city or town sewer lines, therefore resulting in a backup. Sewer pipes can become clogged for many reasons. Some of the most common can be:
- Excess fats and oils being put down the sink,
- Improper food waste like coffee grounds and banana peels,
- Hair
- Soap deposits
- Diapers and wipes
- Feminine hygiene products
The easiest way to protect against a clogged drain is to maintain bathrooms, sinks, and drains and use them for their purposes they were made for. Avoid flushing anything but toilet paper and properly dispose of cleaning wipes, paper towels and hygiene products. Use a mesh snare with shower and tub drains to maintain hair from going down the drain.
Common Sewer Line Backup Causes
Below are some common sewer line backup causes that can lead to clogging in sewerage pipes:
Tree Roots
Both large and small tree roots can cause big problems if they grow into or through your sewer lines. Roots travel from trees and may pose a threat even if you don’t have trees on your exact piece of property. Once they grow into your sewer lines, then the only way to fix the matter is to cut the roots away and then repair or replace the pipe.
While these materials are pretty durable, they will stand the test of time forever. It’s typical for sewer pipes to weaken or even collapse as they grow older. You must fix or replace your sewer line if it cracks or worse, collapses.
Sump Pumps, Gutters or Downspouts Routed to Sewers
While connecting gutters, sump pumps or downspouts to storm sewers is fine, linking them to your sewer line is insecure. A substantial quantity of water can flow via gutters and sump pumps during substantial rainfalls or as snow melts. Sanitary sewers are meant to eliminate a lot lower quantity of wastewater from the residence. Connecting storm water for your sanitary sewers raises the changes of a backup.
Issues with Municipal Sewers
Despite the fact that you have some control over several causes of sewer backups, there is not much you can do in order to protect against a municipal sewer backup – it is out of your hands. Municipal sewers face exactly the very same issues. They are vulnerable to blockages and deteriorate over time.
Deciding whether the issue is with your sewer lines or the municipal sewers is not always simple. Typically, a civil clog can influence multiple houses on your road, but this is not always guaranteed. A professional plumbing technician will be able to help locate the matter and advise on the most appropriate strategy.
How do you Know if your Sewer is Backed Up
Identifying an issue before it gets too messy is always the preferred option. That’s why we have assembled four warning signals you should look out for:
1. Frequently Clogged Drains
Our advice to you would be to steer clear of chemical liquid drain cleaning products and phone a professional to test out that backed-up drain! In the case you have a drain that constantly clogs, particularly in the lowermost level of your residence, it could come from a break or obstruction in your sewer pipe.
2. More than One Clogged Fixture
It is hard to tell if the bathroom or shower keeps clogging due to an individual pipe blockage or due to a sewer line problem. However, a very obvious indication of a sewer line issue is when more than 1 plumbing fixture backs up at precisely the exact same moment.
3. Strange Occurrences While Using Plumbing Appliances
Next, look for when you suspect a sewage issue is experiencing unusual activity when using your plumbing appliances. You may have a problem if:
- When you flush the toilet, water backs up out of the tub or shower.
- Water in the toilet begins to bubble. Should this occur, run water in the sink that is closest to the toilet for a few minutes. If the water continues to bubble (or rises), then it is not a fluke.
4. Your Lawn Starts to Change
A sewer line usually extends from your residence, through your front lawn, and into the town’s sewage system. Head outdoors and see if you can detect any of these modifications to your lawn:
- Indentations in your yard
- Soggy patches of grass
- Fowl smells
Main Sewer Line Issues in Charlotte, NC If you experience an issue with your main sewer line, using DIY methods to fix the problem rarely will do the trick. In most cases you will need to solicit the help from a local plumbing professional. As soon as you think there might be an issue, call your plumber. The quicker they can diagnose the issue, the less likely you are to have a real poop storm on your hands.
