Sewer backups send contaminated flood water through your plumbing fixtures that destroy your home and temporarily make it unusable. Unfortunately, water cleanup and repairs for a sewage backup can cost thousands of dollars, depending on the severity.
However, these home disasters are easy to prevent when you know what causes them and how to mitigate their effects.
What Causes Sewer Backups?
The biggest reason sewer backups are so common is that several different things can cause them. However, these sewer backup causes are the most common in residential spaces.
Tree Roots
Root systems from trees and bushes gravitate towards sewer lines as a source of moisture. Unfortunately, that means they can grow around service pipe joints and inside sewer line cracks, constricting and blocking the sewer lines and creating a backup.
An Old or Damaged Sewer System
Your home’s main sewer line has a demanding job that can cause it to crack, corrode, or break altogether. While aging sewage systems typically have the most wear and tear, a poorly-installed new one is nearly as likely to break and cause a sewer backup.
Clogs or Overflow
A clogged drain or sewer pipe won’t have the space to send water through the system, which forces the water back out of the drains. Similarly, stormwater overflow can overwhelm sewer lines, pushing the water back through the plumbing devices and floor drains.
Ways to Prevent a Sewer Backup
Now that you know what commonly causes sewer backups, it’s time to learn how you can prevent them.
Correct Sewer Pipes and Connections
Well-maintained, well-connected pipes are essential for sewer backup prevention. Unfortunately, many sewer systems suffer from broken pipes or illegal plumbing connections to flood control systems like sump pumps that block natural water flow.
Disconnecting those illegal connections and replacing failing pipes and sewer lines will improve your system’s functionality.
Be Careful with Your Drain and Garbage Disposal
Cooking oil is one of the biggest causes of clogs in kitchen drains. Though it starts as a liquid, the heat from cooking solidifies it within a few hours, which blocks your pipes when you pour it down the sink.
Similarly, paper towels will block pipes when you flush them down the toilet, leading to sewer backup and septic tank pumping to reverse the damage. It’s vital to properly dispose of these things to avoid backup issues and needing hydro excavation.
Remove Tree Roots and Blockages
If tree roots are interfering with your pipes, you will either need to trim them regularly or remove the tree as part of sewer backup prevention.
Prevent Sewer Backup with Roto-Rooter MN
When sewer backup strikes your home, an emergency plumber from Roto-Rooter will be waiting to help you with the damage.
We offer drain cleaning and system repair that prevents backups from returning, as well as cleanup services for contaminated and sanitary sewer backups. Additionally, we’ll work directly with your insurance company to file a sewer backup claim on your behalf.
Call Roto-Rooter MN at (320) 207-1079 to schedule repairs or cleanup services.
