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Sewer Backup Cleanup for Homeowners: Step-by-Step Guide

Sewer Backup Cleanup for Homeowners

Understanding Sewer Backups: Causes and Prevention

Sewer backups can be a nightmare for homeowners. They occur when an obstruction or damage in the sewer line prevents wastewater from flowing away from your home, causing it to back up into your living spaces. Common causes include tree roots infiltrating pipes, blockages from debris or grease, and aging or damaged sewer lines. Preventing these issues involves regular maintenance, avoiding flushing inappropriate items, and being vigilant about signs of potential problems.

Immediate Actions to Take When You Discover a Sewer Backup

Discovering a sewer backup in your home can be alarming, but taking immediate action can mitigate damage and health risks. First, avoid using any plumbing fixtures to prevent additional wastewater from entering your home. Turn off the main water supply if necessary. Next, evacuate the affected area to avoid exposure to harmful contaminants. If the backup is extensive, consider contacting a nearby plumber or restoration service for assistance.

Assessing the Extent of the Damage

Before we get into the cleanup process, it’s crucial to assess the extent of the damage. This involves determining which areas of your home are affected and the severity of the contamination. Look for signs such as standing water, dampness, and unpleasant odors. Check walls, floors, and personal belongings for any signs of water damage. This assessment will help you plan the cleanup process and decide whether you need professional help.

Gathering Essential Cleanup Supplies

Proper cleanup of a sewer backup requires specific supplies to ensure safety and effectiveness. Gather the following items before you begin:

  • Protective gear: gloves, masks, and goggles
  • Cleaning agents: disinfectants, bleach, and detergents
  • Tools: mops, buckets, scrub brushes, and sponges
  • Absorbent materials: towels, rags, and paper towels
  • Trash bags: for disposing of contaminated items

Personal Safety Measures During Cleanup

Safety should be your top priority when cleaning up a sewer backup. Wear protective gear, including gloves, masks, and goggles, to avoid direct contact with contaminated water and surfaces. Ensure proper ventilation in the affected area by opening windows and using fans. Avoid consuming food or drinks in the cleanup zone, and wash your hands thoroughly after handling contaminated items.

Removing Standing Water and Debris

The first step in the physical cleanup process is to remove standing water and debris from the affected area. Use a wet/dry vacuum or a pump to extract water. Be cautious of electrical hazards if water has come into contact with electrical outlets or appliances. Once the water is removed, collect and dispose of any solid debris, such as dirt, paper, or other materials, that may have been carried in by the backup.

Cleaning and Disinfecting Affected Areas

Thorough cleaning and disinfection are essential to eliminate harmful pathogens and prevent mold growth. Start by scrubbing surfaces with soap and water to remove dirt and grime. Follow up with a disinfectant solution, such as a mixture of bleach and water, to kill bacteria and viruses. Pay special attention to floors, walls, and any porous materials that may have absorbed contaminated water. Rinse surfaces with clean water and allow them to dry completely.

Handling Contaminated Personal Belongings

Personal belongings that have come into contact with sewage water need special attention. Hard, non-porous items can often be cleaned and disinfected, while porous items like carpets, upholstery, and paper products may need to be discarded. When in doubt, it’s best to err on the side of caution and dispose of items that cannot be thoroughly sanitized.

Drying and Dehumidifying the Area

After cleaning, it’s crucial to dry the affected area to prevent mold and mildew growth. Use fans, dehumidifiers, and open windows to promote air circulation and speed up the drying process. Monitor the humidity levels and continue drying until the area is completely dry. This step is vital to ensure a safe and healthy environment in your home.

Restoring and Repairing Damaged Areas

Once the area is clean and dry, you can begin restoring and repairing any damage caused by the sewer backup. This may involve replacing drywall, flooring, or insulation that was contaminated or damaged. Consider consulting with a professional contractor to ensure the repairs are done correctly and safely. Taking the time to restore your home properly will help prevent future issues and maintain its value.

Preventing Future Sewer Backups

Preventing future sewer backups involves regular maintenance and mindful practices. Schedule routine inspections of your sewer lines to identify and address potential problems early. Avoid flushing items like grease, wipes, and feminine hygiene products that can cause blockages. Consider installing a backflow valve to prevent sewage from flowing back into your home. Educate your household members about proper disposal methods to keep your plumbing system in good condition.

When to Call a Professional

While some sewer backups can be handled by homeowners, there are situations where professional help is necessary. If the backup is extensive, involves multiple areas of your home, or if you are unsure about the cleanup process, it’s best to contact an emergency sewer backup service. They have the expertise and equipment to handle severe cases safely and effectively, ensuring your home is restored to a safe and livable condition.

Understanding Insurance Coverage for Sewer Backups

Homeowners should be aware of their insurance coverage regarding sewer backups. Standard homeowner’s insurance policies may not cover damage caused by sewer backups, so it’s important to review your policy and consider adding a sewer backup endorsement if necessary. This additional coverage can provide financial protection and peace of mind in the event of a sewer backup.

Documenting the Incident and Expenses

Proper documentation is essential for insurance claims and future reference. Take photos and videos of the affected areas and damaged items before, during, and after the cleanup process. Keep detailed records of all expenses related to the cleanup and repairs, including receipts for supplies, professional services, and any temporary accommodations if needed. This documentation will support your insurance claim and help ensure you receive the compensation you are entitled to.

Emotional and Mental Health Considerations

Experiencing a sewer backup can be stressful and emotionally taxing. It’s important to acknowledge the impact it may have on your mental health and take steps to manage stress. Reach out to friends, family, or support groups for emotional support. Consider speaking with a mental health professional if you find it difficult to cope. Taking care of your emotional well-being is just as important as addressing the physical aspects of the cleanup.

Summing It Up

Dealing with a sewer backup requires prompt action, thorough cleaning, and careful restoration to ensure your home remains safe and clean. By following this step-by-step guide, homeowners can effectively manage the cleanup process and minimize the impact of a sewer backup. Regular maintenance and preventive measures can help prevent future incidents, providing peace of mind and protecting your home from potential damage.

How Clogging Leads to a Sewer Backup

How Clogging Leads to a Sewer Backup

A sewer backup is the most disgusting drainage problem you can ever have in your home. Every year, tens of thousands of homeowners find themselves dealing with this issue in their homes. Yet, in most cases, sewer backups can be prevented if the problem is detected on time.

What is a sewer backup?

Most homes have a sewer line that carries wastewater from the sinks, drains, and toilets in the home to the main sewer lines beneath the streets. A sewer backup happens when the contents of this sewer line backflow into your home instead of flowing into the main sewer lines.

When this happens, all the content of the sewer line (including raw sewage) will start coming up inside the home via the floor drains, toilets, and sinks. A sewer backup releases foul-smelling unsanitary water into the house, causing untold problems for the home’s inhabitants, warns Compass Property Management.

What causes a sewer backup?

Sewer backups happen due to clogs inside a home’s sewer lines. Clogs make it impossible for wastewater to pass through the drainpipes. Having nowhere to go, and as more water is added from the house, the sewer line eventually fills up and spills its contents into the home.

There are many reasons why your home’s sewer lines may become clogged. Some of these reasons are outside your control because they result from natural events. But most sewer line clogs are caused by misuse of your home’s drains or failure to maintain the sewer lines properly. If your sewer line does in fact have a clog, the best way to remove it is by way of a professional hydro jetting service.

Here are a few ways drain clogs can cause sewer backups:

Non-flushable items inside the drains

The only thing that should be flushed into your home’s toilets is toilet paper. When items like wipes, feminine hygiene products, fabric, dental floss, or so-called flushable products enter the toilet, they can block the sewer line. 

Hair can also block your sewer line if it gets into sink and shower drains. Soap scum is another major cause of drain clogs. It forms when soap and minerals inside hard water come into contact. Soap scum becomes a hard lining on drainpipe inner surfaces.

Cooking oil and grease buildup

A major cause of sewer line blockage is cooking oil or grease buildup inside drainpipes. Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) congeal into a hard mass as they cool inside the sewer line. This hard, sticky mass can directly block the channel or stick to the surface of the pipe. 

Once in place, the greasy lining will start to trap debris until the diameter of the pipe narrows to a point where water can no longer flow freely. If this situation is not reversed, it can culminate in a sewer backup.

Use of chemical drain cleaners

Chemical drain cleaners can dissolve the clogs inside your sewer lines. But while they remove clogs in the short term, they also cause long-term damage to sewer lines. That’s because cleaners contain caustic chemicals. 

These chemicals are responsible for the corrosive nature of cleaners that allows them to eat away the clog inside the pipes. The problem is that the chemicals can also weaken the drainpipe, causing sections to collapse, thereby blocking the pipe.

Old pipes 

If a sewer line has old pipes, it is more susceptible to clogs, and the risk of sewer backups in the home will be greater. This is particularly true for sewer lines made of clay or metal pipes because those start to degrade as soon as they are buried in the ground. 

Long terms exposure to moisture, from within and without, eventually causes the pipes to leak or even collapse, in turn calling for an unexpected sewer line repair expense. If the surrounding soil finds its way into the pipe, it can result in the sewer backing up into the home.

Earth movements

The soil around a sewer line can cause it to become clogged if that soil moves in a way that alters the position of the pipes. Upward or downward movements in the soil can change the level of the sewer line and make it difficult for water to flow freely. 

If the water inside the pipe is forced to slow down, it will deposit debris in that pipe section. This can continue until enough dirt accumulates in that lowered pipe section to block it and cause a sewer backup emergency.

Tree roots

Tree roots may pierce a sewer line and block it. Most times, this happens due to small leaks in the pipe, which attract the attention of tree roots. To access the nutrient-rich water inside the pipe, the tree roots break into the sewer line and block it. Tree roots can also block a sewer line by growing over or above it and moving it out of place. This creates a depression inside the pipe, where debris is dumped until the entire sewer line is blocked.

Best Ways to Prevent Sewer Back Ups

Plumbing issues in the home are almost unavoidable. They are the inevitable outcome of the normal use and eventual aging of the plumbing system. Plumbing issues can happen at any time and in almost any part of the home. This is because the plumbing in your home extends throughout the house, as TE Johnson & Sons explains, so problems are not limited to just one part of the building.

Best Ways to Prevent Sewer Back Ups

Plumbing issues come in different forms. They may take place unseen behind an appliance or feature of the home. When this is the case, a plumbing problem can do secret harm and it could take some time before it is discovered. Other times, a plumbing problem is self-evident because it happens in a way that completely disrupts the normal use of the plumbing.

This second type of plumbing problem creates what is known as a plumbing emergency. These are issues that are so distressing that they must be dealt with immediately. Plumbing emergencies not only prevent the normal use of the plumbing, but they also damage the other features of your home. A sewer backup problem is perhaps the number one plumbing emergency in the home.

What is a sewer backup?

Sewer backups happen when the normal flow of wastewater from the home is prevented by a blocked or damaged sewer line. When a sewer line is blocked, its contents don’t flow into the municipal sewer lines as it should. Instead, it is trapped inside the pipes on your property. If those pipes become full, their content eventually starts to overflow inside your home.

A sewer backup is easily the most disgusting type of plumbing problem because it will release the gross contents of a sewer line into your home. Sewer backups are so damaging that out-of-pocket cost for fixing the problem is often between $2,000 and $10,000. But the good news is the problem can be prevented.

How to prevent sewer backups

Watch what you flush down the drain

Your home’s drainage system does not have the capacity to handle everything you throw at it. In fact, most items labeled “flushable” will create problems for the drain. The only thing you should flush down the toilet is toilet paper, not wipes, sanitary towels, disposable diapers, or feminine products. 

In the kitchen avoid putting grease, oil, fat, eggshells, potato, rice, fibrous vegetables, and coffee grounds into the drain. Also, do not let hair get into the shower drain.

Protect sewer lines from tree roots

The roots of plants and even small bushes pose a major threat to your sewer lines. The wastewater inside sewer lines provides a rich source of nutrition and tree roots will invade any place where there is water and nutrition.

sewer tree roots

If allowed to grow close to the sewer line, plant roots can puncture the pipe and eventually block it. To prevent this, don’t plant trees or bushes near sewer lines and laterals. You can also prevent tree root damage by using plastic piping.

Do not divert excess rainwater into the sewer

Diverting the water from downspouts, the sump pump, French drains, and your flood control systems into the sanitary sewer line might seem like a good idea. It feels like an easy way to prevent water pooling in your yard. But it is actually a bad idea because rainwater can overwhelm the drain and cause flooding in your home. By diverting the downspout into the sewer, you could be unintentionally channeling floodwater into your house.

Install a sewer backflow valve

This serves as the last line of defense against sewer backups. The backflow valve installation will let wastewater flow out of your home into the sewer line but will prevent the sewer contents from flowing in the opposite direction. When backs happen up due to a damaged or blocked line and because of heavy rains, the valve automatically closes the channel.

Install an exterior cleanout

An exterior cleanout offers a cost-effective way to deal with sewer problems. They are often located in the yard and can be identified by their round cap. Most are made of vitreous clay pipe and installed flush with the ground.  

An external entry point to the main sewer line makes the work of cleaning sewer lines or removing blockages easier. An outside cleanout helps prevent water and pipe damage, and if a problem does happen, it cuts your repair costs since the repair is done from inside the cleanout.

Inspect and fix old pipes

The probability of sewer backup increases with damaged lateral lines. The only way to be sure your sewer line is in good condition is to have it inspected by an expert once a year. If the line is damaged, you have three options for solving the problem. Lining the pipe is an effective way to solve minimal issues with the lines. For more serious issues the next option is pipe bursting. Both pipe bursting and pipe lining do not involve excavation. But if the problem is major, the only way to solve it may be to dig up the yard and replace the sewer line.