Sewage Backup
What You Need to Know About Your Sewer System
What goes into it must come out, one way or another. If the drains are working properly, wastewater will move through a series of pipes in your home, to the main drain where it connects, outside the house, to the municipal sewer system. If you live in the country, the main drain connects to your septic tank(s) and field.
The Municipal Sewer System
Once the waste from your main drain enters the municipal sewer system, it travels through a series of underground pipes that lead to a municipal wastewater treatment facility.
What is a Sewage Backup?
A sewage backup will occur when the wastewater from your house reverses course. Instead of flowing along the main drain into the municipal sewer system, it backs up into your toilets and sinks. If the drains are not working properly, sewage will back up through the sewer system into your home.
Why Does a Drain Block?
- When foreign items enter the sewage system from toilets and sinks.
- When roots grow into the main drain pipe between the house and the municipal sewer system. Perhaps the main drain is crushed, cracked, or is out of alignment.
What to Do in the Event of a Sewage Backup
Do not run water, flush the toilet, do laundry or take a shower until the blockage has been cleared. Contact Plumbtech Plumbing Inc. to diagnose and locate the blockage
How Do You Know There’s an Issue?
- Smell.
- Water builds up and collects in the sink basin. Does water drain away slowly? Does it drain slowly in more than one fixture – sinks and showers?
- Is there water and waste build-up in the toilet? Does the toilet flush?
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Plumbtech Plumbing Can Help
One of Plumbtech’s expert plumbers can use a video camera to find out what’s going on inside the main drain pipe. It’s a less invasive approach to diagnosing and fixing the problem than ripping into walls and digging up buried pipes. No one wants sewage backing up in their home. Should greater measures need to be taken to clear it, Plumbtech can arrange for locates, excavation, contractor, and/or the replacement of waterlines, sewer and storm drains if necessary.
Camera Diagnostics
Plumbtech has a mini camera, complete with a light, and attached cable specifically designed to go into the main drain. The unit is fed into the drain and the attached camera sends a visual picture of its journey back to the plumber who can follow it on a monitor. Any issues will show up on the screen. The plumber can also locate where the problem is in the pipe, as well as its depth.
Who’s Responsible?
Some may wonder about the connection between the home and municipal sewer system. Is the city responsible for any of the damage? The homeowner is responsible for the main drain line up to the point where it connects to the municipal sewer system. Should greater measures need to be taken to clear it, Plumbtech can arrange for locates, excavation, contractor, and/or the replacement of waterlines, sewer and storm drains if necessary.
Insurance
Some home insurance policies provide coverage in the event of a sewage backup. For details and exclusions, contact your insurance company. Any issues will show up on the screen. The plumber can also locate where the problem is in the pipe, as well as its depth.
What Can You Do?
- Keep those drains clear.
- Make sure garbage is disposed of properly – not down the sink or toilet. Keep tissues, wipes, napkins, diapers, cat litter, and hygiene products out of the toilet.
- Add screens to the kitchen sink to stop any food bits from going down the drain.
- Keep grease out of all drains. It will solidify and block the drain pipe when cooled.
Maintenance and Prevention
To schedule a drain cleaning, contact Plumbtech Plumbing at 705-722-7209. Having it cleaned could prevent a future plumbing emergency.
In The Event of an Emergency.
Plumbtech Plumbing Inc maintains a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week Emergency Service. Highly skilled plumbers can be dispatched throughout Barrie, Simcoe County, and Muskoka. Call (877) 705-7209.
