Do you have a sewer backup in Jerome, ID? Nothing good comes from wastewater entering your home and soiling any absorbent material, including flooring and baseboards. If your sewer line has stopped doing its job, it’s time to call the experts for sewer repairs. DIY repairs like plunging and using chemical drain cleaners won’t fix the problem. You need professional plumbing assistance from the licensed plumbers at Magic Electric, Plumbing, Heating + Air.
That being said, it’s always good to know the steps to take if you’re ever in such an unfortunate situation. Often, many homeowners don’t recognize they even have a backed-up sewer pipe until the blockage becomes severe. In this post, you’ll learn how to spot signs of potential trouble, what steps to take if a backup occurs, and what you can do to prevent backups from happening again.
How to Spot a Sewage Problem
Many times, concerned homeowners call us suspecting the worst when what they have is a simple drain clog. Foreign objects, excess toilet paper, grease, hair, and other substances can cause single drains to clog unexpectedly, allowing no water to pass through. What separates a sewer clog from a regular clogged drain is when more than one drain backs up simultaneously. In the most serious cases, wastewater overflows from multiple drains throughout the house.
At Magic Electric, Plumbing, Heating + Air, we never want clogs to get that bad. Fortunately, your home’s plumbing system gives signals to help you identify potential problems before the worst-case scenario happens. Here are some things to look for.
Signs of a Clogged Sewer Line
Have you noticed wet spots on your lawn even though it hasn’t rained recently? Maybe you’re playing in the yard with your kids, and you catch a rancid smell coming from the ground. Never ignore these signs because they’re a sure indicator of a blocked or broken sewer line.
You also want to pay attention to the functionality of household drains. Most of the time, they won’t all back up right away. Instead, they’ll drain slower, taking longer to release water.
What to Do If You Have a Sewage Backup
The moment you realize you have a sewer backup, you must act immediately. You don’t want to wait because sewage is a biohazard. Any person (pets, too) that comes into contact with sewage can become sick. If raw sewage infiltrates your home, block off the area and don’t allow anyone near the mess. If you need to come in contact with the sewage water, you must protect yourself. Wear gloves, a face mask, and other protective gear to prevent skin, eye, and lung damage.
You also want to protect your home from hazards. For starters, don’t use any other plumbing fixtures in the house until you get the all-clear from professionals. If sewage water is near electrical cords or appliances, turn off the electrical circuits to those items, but only if it’s safe.
Once you’ve secured the home, the next step is to call a plumber. You might also want to call your homeowner’s insurance and see what coverage you have to help with any repairs.
Plumbers must repair the damage, which you’ll learn more about in the following section, but once the repair happens, the next step is to clean up the mess. We recommend cleaning up small sewage backups using disinfectants and a wet/dry vacuum. You should also throw out any absorbent material the sewage water touched, such as carpeting, wooden flooring, baseboards, drywall, furniture, etc.
For large sewer messes, it’s best to call water damage restoration companies. You don’t want to wait to make this call because the sewage water creates the perfect conditions for mold to grow fast. Mold not only causes expensive damage, but it’s also a health hazard.
Repairing Sewer Damage
After a sewer backup, you need to find the source of the problem to prevent it from happening again. That’s where the team at Magic Electric, Plumbing, Heating + Air comes into the picture. Several problems can cause sewer pipes to malfunction, including:
- Crushed or broken pipes
- Detoriatition from normal wear and tear from aging
- Deep clogs
- Tree root infiltration
Plumbers use equipment like video cameras to determine the cause and location of a sewer pipe’s damage. To fix the problem, they might recommend hydro-jetting, a professional drain cleaning technique to clear severely clogged sewer pipes. If the pipe is damaged, they might recommend trenchless pipe repair methods like pipe bursting or cured-in-place pipe lining (CIPP).
How to Prevent Recurring Sewer Problems
The last thing you want is to spend your hard-earned money repairing a sewage problem, only to have raw sewage backing up into your drains a few months or years later. Here’s some good news: You can prevent recurring sewer problems.
First, you need to understand why sewer pipes back up. Sometimes, it’s a municipal sewer system problem that’s out of your control. If this has happened to you, chances are it’s happened to your neighbors, too. Fortunately, in situations like this, your homeowner’s insurance policy kicks in and covers the cost of damages.
But what about the sewer issues that you can control?
Firstly, consider the age of your home. Is it older than 40 years? Have you had a sewer pipe inspection recently? At Magic Electric, Plumbing, Heating + Air, we recommend Jerome homeowners have their sewer pipes inspected every few years to identify potential problems. The inspection cost and any subsequent repairs are well worth it to avoid sewer water from overflowing into your home.
Secondly, consider how you use your home’s plumbing. What do you pour down the drain or flush down the toilet daily? If you have a habit of pouring cooking grease down your drain or flushing non-toilet tissue paper products, sewage problems could show up sooner than you think. You should even avoid flushing products labeled as flushable because these products don’t dissolve as quickly as toilet paper. They stay in pipes for a while and collect debris that flows by, increasing the risk of severe clogs.
Backed Up Sewer Repair in Jerome
At Magic Electric, Plumbing, Heating + Air, we know the frustration and cost that sewage problems cause. That’s why we go above and beyond to provide you with expert service that never cuts corners. We’re an A+ BBB accredited business, recognized by HomeAdvisor as an Elite Service provider and a proud member of the Jerome Chamber of Commerce. We’re a full-service plumbing, electrical, and HVAC company serving Twin Fall County and surrounding areas that offer hassle-free scheduling, upfront pricing, and clean, professional work. When you choose Magic Electric, Plumbing, Heating + Air, you’re choosing excellence and quality. We stand behind our work 100% and want all our customers to have an amazing experience.
Stop sewage backups before they get out of hand. For backed-up sewer repair in Jerome, get in touch with your neighbors at Magic Electric, Plumbing, Heating + Air today!
