It’s every homeowner’s worst nightmare. The sewage that’s meant to go down your pipes ends up coming back up into your home. This is not only a smelly and disgusting mess, but it can wreak havoc on the interior of your house. Being able to identify a sewage backup early on can help to reduce the impact it has on your household and family.
Sewage Odors From Your Drain
Sewage has a very distinct smell that most people can pick up on from a mile away. If you have that distinct sewage smell coming from one or more of your drains, it’s highly likely that you have a backup somewhere in your main sewage line. You should be responding to the problem now before the actual sewage waste starts to come up through the drain and into your home.
Gurgling Drains and Toilets
One tell-tale sign of a sewage backup is gurgling coming from your toilet or drains. This sound naturally happens because the water that’s used for flushing the air down the piping is unable to escape through the vent. The air will travel back up your piping and escape through your drain or toilet and make that obvious gurgling sound. The sound can happen when you’re flushing your toilet, rinsing water down your drain, or randomly.
Slow Draining Everywhere
If you notice that one of your drains is draining very slowly, it can be cause for concern. When you notice that all of your drains are taking forever to drain, it’s an indication that you have a problem with your main sewage line. You’ll start to experience this slow draining at the lowest drains in your home, meaning the ones on the first level.
Multiple Clogs All at Once
Just as the slow draining symptom happening to all your drains is an indication of a major problem, when all of your drains are clogged, it’s very obvious that you have a problem with your main sewer line. You’re going to notice the clogs first at the drains on the lowest level of your home because they’re the ones closest to your sewage line.
You See Sewage
The most obvious sign that you have sewage back up in your home is that you actually see the raw sewage. This will start to come out of the drains on the lowest floor of your house and work its way up. The sewage will come up through your sinks, toilets, and other drains. It’s important to note that apart from being disgusting to deal with, raw sewage emits an odor that can be very dangerous to your respiratory system. Getting this problem fixed immediately is a must to ensure the safety of your family and your home.
Wetness Around Drains
If you’re like most homeowners, you have drains in your basement, garage, and laundry room. Due to their physical position in your house, these are going to be the first drains that are going to stop working when you have a sewage backup. A great indicator of an impending sewage backup is that there’s wetness on the floor around these drains. While it may seem only slight to begin with, it won’t be long until these drains start to emit raw sewage.
Running One Faucet Causes a Backup at Another
One really annoying problem that you may not notice right away is that running one faucet ends up backing up another. For example, you may have your bathroom sink and shower on the same plumbing line. As you run your bathroom sink, you may notice that the water starts to come up through the drain in your shower. It’s crucial that you shut off the running water until you can fix the backup problem with the drain.
Water in Your Cleanout Pipe
Every home sewer line is expected to have a convenient cleanout pipe. This is a pipe that’s positioned where the sewer line comes up out of your basement floor. It allows a professional to have access to your sewage pipe without having to try and go down one of your drains. If you take off the cap of this cleanout pipe and you notice that there’s standing water in it, then it’s a clear indicator that you have a sewage backup somewhere in your system that needs to be addressed.
Reliable Plumbing Services
Spot On Heating, Air & Plumbing offers reliable plumbing services to the Whittier, CA, region. We also provide heating, cooling, water heater, water filtration, air balancing, insulation, indoor air quality, and combustion safety services. Contact us today, and we’ll be sure to get a technician on the way.