My Sewer Is Clogged What Do I Do?
It really might not be fun to think of, but sewer clogs and backups can happen to anyone. These backups leave a foul smell inside your home and make for an extremely troublesome situation where you don’t have many options to play with. You can either take the situation in your hands and risk aggravating the problem or call professional cleaners, plumbers, and what not to think of a solution. In any case, you’re in for a tough time.
In this article, we look at the causes of a sewer clog or backup and what you can do when you suffer from one. Follow the tips in this article to solve the problem urgently.
Causes of a Sewer Backup or Clog
However, there are certain questions that come to the mind of concerned homeowners when they come across a sewer backup. What caused the problem? Why them? What can they do to avert the risks going on in the future? All of these questions require some answering, and we might have the resources to do so. Based on our experience with sewer backups, the following are the common reasons behind them:
A Hair Clog
Just like your pipes and drainage system, your main sewer line can also get clogged. This clog can cause a backup inside your home. If the trouble lies in any one sink, tub or toilet, then you might have a problem in just that one line. But, if every flush from any part of your home creates a backup, then the main sewer line is at risk.
Most sewer clogs can be prevented through the following means:
- Your toilet isn’t a waste basket, don’t use it as one. Trash belongs to the trash can, not inside your toilet.
- Use your garbage disposal with care, and avoid dumping large quantities of everything in one go.
- Grease shouldn’t go down the drain, as it has a sticky feel to it, which is extremely troublesome inside a drain. The same can be said for leftover fats from food.
Tree Roots
Tree roots are often a common cause of sewer backups. Even if your own yard is void of trees, roots from trees in your neighbor’s yard can be the cause of the problem. Tree roots often try to pave the way for themselves and crush whatever resistance that comes in their direction. The main sewer line is often subjected to this tyranny, as roots tend to envelop the line and crush it over time, leading to a sewer backup.
Broken or Collapsed Sewer Line
How much do you know about your sewer lines? What were the lines made of? For how much time have they been there? Knowing answers to all these questions can help you find out the reason behind why your sewer lines are suffering from continuous backups. Cast iron and clay piping from the past often succumb to the pressure of a drain over time and may lead to a sewer backup. The plastic lines we have now are more convenient and have remained in place for long.
What to Do When Your Sewer Line Is Clogged
A sewer clog can often be an emergency situation, which is why you should act on the following points to immediately rectify the problem.
Turn off the Main Water Line
Noticing a clogged sewer line is just half the battle. The other half is working on rectification. The first step is to turn the main water line off to not aggravate the situation in any way. You don’t want the main water line to be kept on and then flood one of your bathroom floors with raw sewage spread around.
Practice DIY Drills
Once you shut your main water line off, you can practice some DIY drills to see if they work for you. Chances are that DIY drills won’t be effective enough in fighting the main cause of the problem. You should check if drain cleaners work on the sewer backup or not. Drain cleaners may work based on the extent of the emergency.
Call a Plumber
It is technically impossible for you to clear away a sewer clog with your own bare hands, without the help of a proper plumber. The process can be quite extensive and can drain the life out of you. Keeping this in mind, it is highly necessary that you call a plumber and have him work with you to improve the situation.
If the sewer clog or backup is caused by a major problem, you will have to work on it to remediate the root cause. The professional you hire will know how to unclog a sewer and will work with you to improve the situation. Many homes also tend to have a sewer line cleanout, which can be used to clean the mess from the clogged drain.
Sewerage and drainage cleanup can be an extensive process if you don’t have the right team available. 911 Restoration of Northern Kentucky is just a call away for you! You can get in touch with us to perform a thorough inspection of your sewerage and clear it up for future use.
