Top Warning Signs Of Sewer Backup

When you send water “down the drain” in your house, it will pass through the drain pipelines and into a sewage system line. All of the drains within your home feed into one primary drain line, which then feeds water and waste back toward the public water treatment system. Regrettably, problems with the sewage system line can and do occur especially if you home is older or if you havent kept up with routine sewer line service and mainatanence.

Sewage backups are as worrying as they are disgusting and harmful. As quickly as sewage starts to back up in your house’s plumbing system, it can cause all sorts of problems and damage, and the longer the backup is ignored, the bigger the issue can get and the further damage it can cause. However, there are alerting signs to watch for that could help you stop a potentially harmful sewage blockage in its tracks.

Top 7 Sewer Backup Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore

1- Bubbling Toilets and Drains

The most common red flags of a sewage backup are usually bubbling toilets and drains or water backing up into your tub, or toilet not flushing.

2- Sluggish Draining Bathtubs or Laundry Lines

If your drains are slow and water can’t pass through your pipes and to your sewer line, this could signal a sewage backup issue. This problem normally starts with the closest drains to your main sewer line or the lowest drains in your home as the backup approaches your piping and sewage system line.

3- Tree Roots

If you live in an older home or have large trees in your yard, tree roots might invade your sewer line and cause a sewage backup into your house. If your drains or flowing slowly or your toilets are gurgling like in warning sign #1 this may indicate you have tree roots penetrating your pipes.

4- Stinky Smell Coming From Your Drains

Drains pipes going out of your home should not have an odor. If you have a foul smell coming from drains pipes, it might be an indication of a more substantial main sewage issue. It is worth noting that if you had a previous mainline sewer backup in the past and didn’t get your plumbing hydro jetted, you could also have buildup on the pipe walls that still smell.

5- Severe Weather

Heavy storms and severe temperature levels are a recipe for disaster that could put a damper on your house’s pipes system. These conditions can be particularly hard on your main sewer line. Storms regularly backup main sewer lines, and in addition to exceedingly high temperatures throughout summer months, weather conditions can lead to blocked main drain lines and damage to homes.

6- Cleanout Pipe Overflow

If your cleanout pipe has sewage coming out of it or if you think you may have a sewage backup, you can check the cleanout pipe to see if you have standing water in sewer cleanout. If sewage is spilling out or if you have standing water, it means you have a sewage backup, and it needs attention right away.

Pro Plumbing Tip: If you have a backup, you can often pull the mainline sewer trap and clear the line. Often this is clogged with hair, toilet paper, and who knows what in the pipe. We have seen it all!

7- Weird Reactions From Other Plumbing Fixtures

If you use the toilet and water backs up into the shower or if you are using the washer and water backs up into the kitchen sink, it’s a strong sign of a sewer pipe backup.

How Do YouFix A Clogged Sewer Line?

Since the primary sewer line is the pipeline that brings waste away from all of your household drains pipes to the sewage treatment plant, drain upkeep and maintenance is especially important.

When it comes to sewage line backups, we have seen and handled it all. If you notice any of these common warning signs, call the licensed, friendly, and trustworthy plumbing team at Canyon Hills Plumbing for a free estimate. Our plumbers have the experience to clear ANY sewer line blockage, repair broken sewer pipes and drain lines and trenchless sewer repair and are available seven days a week for all your sewage needs.