Sewer Line Backup
Stinky, filthy water backing up into your home? You could have a sewer line backup.
Contact Emergency Plumbing Markham at 647-808-4088
Call NowWhy did the city's sewer line backup?
Blockages and clogs in city pipes cause sewage to backup into your home. Sewer blockages can be caused by items being flushed that shouldn’t be, fats, oils, and grease (FOG) that harden and stick to pipes and tree roots. Heavy rain can inundate city sewer systems that might cause water to backup into your basements. As well, corroded or broken sewer pipes can cause plumbing problems for houses in a neighbourhood. Because there are different types of sewers, sanitary sewers and storm sewers there are many ways that water can accidentally find its way back into your home. In some areas the have a ‘combined sewer’ system that carries both rain and snow water as well as household/business waste water.
Sewer backups into the home are a smelly and frightening occurrence. Sever damage can be caused to property, odours can be intolerable and fears about health safety are raised. Water that might have been sitting in the lines and pipes before the flood may contain bacteria. After a sewer backup, cleaning should happen quickly.
Is my lateral line backed up?
Sewer backups aren’t the only cause of water backing up in your drains. The source of the problem can be a blockage in your main line that leaves the home. The sewer lateral line is owned by the homeowner and it the responsibility of the homeowner to maintain. These sorts of drain backups can be caused by improperly disposed of waste products, food waste, objects like toys, FOG, and tree/shrub roots.
How can I tell if the sewer line is about to backup?
Sewer blockages can be generally be detected with a few symptoms. Water pooling around the basement drain, odd smells coming from the basement drain. In cities with older or aging sewer lines, homeowners should consider having annual checkups with plumbing professionals like Emergency Plumbing Markham to ensure that your pipes, lateral lines and drains are all working and in good working condition. Other measures that can be taken are to make sure you properly dispose of fats, oils and grease. When these substances cool off they form giant fatburgs in the sewer system that have been literally known to make sewer lines burst. Drain backups can also be caused by improperly disposed of waste products and objects that accidentally find their way into the pipes and sewers.
Can groundwater cause my drains backup?
If the groundwater level is higher than you basement, then you there is the possibility of backing up drains and causing flooding.
How can I prevent sewer line backup into my home?
Backwater valves are simple mechanisms can be installed into new homes, or retrofitted into older ones. At Emergency Plumbing Markham, we are experts at installing backwater valves to protect your home.
Your chances of being flooded with backwater from sewage systems increases if you have a basement or if your ground floor is less than a food above street level. Without a backwater valves sewage can come into the basement through a floor drain, sink, tub or toilet.
Be sure to check out any rebates that your local government might offer for the installation of backwater valves. A backwater valve should last many years without any problems. Regular maintenance and check ups should be conducted to make sure it’s not blocked or damaged. For more information on backwater valves visit our page.
When you experience a sewer line backup in your house this can causes thousands of dollars in damage as well as spread harmful bacteria, pathogens, heavy metals, oils and pesticides. It’s a health hazard as well as a massive nuisance.