Your home has several drain lines carrying wastewater away from your sinks, tubs, toilets, etc. All of these are connected to a big main sewer line that sends all the waste from your house to your septic system. When it’s clogged, these drain lines cannot function and result in dirty and contaminated water spilling out of your fixtures.
As you know, molds grow where this is moisture, damaging your home and posing health hazards to your family. It also causes an unpleasant odor stuck in your entire house if not eliminated. Visit here to know more about odor removal caused by mold, sewage, fire, and others.
Unfortunately, you cannot do DIY repairs on your plumbing system if you’re not trained. Aside from specialized tools and equipment, you also need professional skills to handle it. So, before a sewage backup occurs, look out for these early signs it’s most likely to occur:
1. Sewage-Like Odor from Your Drains
If you start noticing a persistent foul smell or an odor that smells like sewage coming from any of your drain lines, this could be a sign of a sewage backup. In some cases, it’s just a clogged drain caused by hair, garbage, food particles, or waste. You can try homemade unclogging mixtures to fix the problem, such as baking soda, water, and vinegar.
Pour down a pot of boiling water on your drain, then a half cup of baking soda. After five minutes, follow it with a solution of 1 cup each of vinegar and water. Wait for ten minutes to let the baking soda and vinegar loosen up whatever is clogging it. Then pour down another pot of boiling water on the drain to flush.
If it doesn’t work, you need to call experts immediately. Otherwise, it can result in a more severe sewage problem that requires professional biohazard cleanup services.
2. Slow-Flushing Toilet
It could be a sewer line problem when your toilet bowl is no longer swirling water down the drain. Try using a plunger to clear out any clogs. If it fails, it’s a potential main sewer line issue.
If you don’t have it repaired, it could lead to a sewage backup. Sewage backup releases physical, airborne contaminants that may result in vomiting, fever, cramping, and some forms of gastroenteritis. If worse comes to worst and it occurs, call experts like PuroClean. They’re not only a biohazard cleanup company but also water damage and fire restoration professionals.
3. Bubbles
Bubbles or gurgling noises coming from your drains are caused by trapped air inside. Though air is a normal part of a plumbing system, it becomes a problem when pressure builds and affects your sink’s P-trap seal. P-trap is the U-shaped portion of your pipe designed to trap liquid, gas, or any unwanted flow entering your house while allowing waste materials to pass through.
If there’s pressure, a vacuum will pull air through the P-trap when water flows down the drain, causing bubbles and gurgling noises.
You’re lucky if this is due to an incorrect P-trap installation because it’s easier to fix. The bad news is that it’s more difficult to diagnose exactly where the blockage is if it’s due to a clogged drain. Call your local plumber if you can’t find where the blockage is.
4. Tree Roots
Older houses can have poorly connected sewer lines constructed out of clay or other porous materials. If trees surround these homes, the tree roots naturally search for water. These roots expand and rupture if they grow into the sewer pipes.
If your sewer pipes drain unusually slow and you hear gurgling sounds in your toilet, it could be a sign that roots have invaded your sewer pipes. If you ignore drainage problems due to tree roots, they will grow larger over time and worsen the issue.
5. Cleanout Pipe Sewage
Most sewer lines can be directly accessed through a capped cleanout pipe located in your basements or outside your house. If you notice sewage water coming out of your cleanout pipe, it may be due to a clogged sewer line pushing water back up and through it.
Most of the time, wastewater accumulates in the cleanout pipe as the backout builds, causing spills. In addition to signs of sewage backup, inspect your cleanout pipe for standing water.
Check this page to learn more about how biohazard cleanup works.
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