Cleaning up after a sewer backup is a biohazard and the repair costs can be pretty expensive. However, you can avoid things from worsening by noting the early signs and acting early on. On that note, let’s look at some of those early signs which indicate your sewer line is starting to push waste in the wrong direction.
Clogged Drainage
It will often start with just a single clogged drain, so you need to take action and clear the clog thoroughly before sewer water starts to back up into your home from that drain. Most of the time, you can prevent a clog by looking out for gurgling sounds and bubbles that precede a clogged drain. At this point, you might still be able to clean the forming clog with plungers, drain snakes, and some hefty use of drain cleaners.
If the standard drain cleaners fail, there is a powerful home-brewed solution you can also use to clean out most sewer clogs. Check the steps as instructed next:
- Gather two pots of water, baking soda, salt, and vinegar in one place.
- Boil the first pot of water, add half a cup of salt to it, and then pour it all down the clogged drain.
- Pour a cup of baking soda and then a cup of vinegar into the drain right after.
- Heat the second pot of water until it starts to boil.
After 15 minutes from the time you poured that cup of vinegar, add half a cup of salt to the second pot of boiling water, before pouring it down the drain.
Multiple Clogged Drains
Even a single clogged drain is not good news, but it is much worse if you find more than one of your indoor drains clogged. It indicates a significant blockage that simultaneously affects multiple drainage pipes, even though that’s not supposed to happen under normal circumstances.
Unless you act immediately, sewage and dirty water will soon back up into your home. In case that has already happened, you need to call your local sewer cleaning professionals for safe cleaning of a sewage backup. The mess not only smells and looks terrible but backed-up sewer water is filled with bacterial and parasitical pathogens.
The Smell of Sewage
Unfortunately, we are all familiar with the smell of sewage, so if that smell starts to linger in your home or even the washroom(s), you have cause to suspect a blockage somewhere. It indicates that waste and water are accumulating in the sewer line, and its smell has already started to back up into your home. It’s only a matter of time before the wastewater starts to back up.
If you notice the foul smell of sewage but don’t see leaking or seeping water anywhere yet, the clog is likely much deeper into the sewer line than you can handle. Call your local sewer clearing professionals to detect and clean up the clog before things start coming back up the wrong way.
If you see the clog or the aforementioned gurgling and bubbles, it might be possible to clear the clog on your own with liquid drain cleaners, plungers, and drain snakes. Never attempt to handle backed-up sewage water without protection and adequate training.
