Like other home systems, you barely pay attention to your sewer pipes until they malfunction. Various elements like hair strands, grease soap, shampoo, and laundry detergent can block the sewer. These are just some of the many causes of sewer backups. Moreover, such elements can be hidden and lurk underneath your lawn or the floors of your home or office space.
Recurrent sewer backups can be a symptom of more than just a jammed pipe. We will discuss 5 common reasons for sewer backup to help you deal with your sewer issues.
Damaged Pipes
If a pipe is cracked, it might not be draining well. If it fails to clear, sewer waste can accumulate and back up. Several factors can lead to a damaged pipe, and improper installation is one of them.
Traditional homes with improper sewage maintenance routine are more susceptible to sewage backups. If pipes were not fitted by a professional, there's a possibility they weren't installed the right way. Hurrying through the design could've led to issues with the installation.
If you live in a region with earthquakes or other ground tremors, pipes can get damaged frequently.
Clogs Lead to Sewer Backup
We flush plenty of stuff down the toilet. Sewer lines are not trash disposals and shouldn't be used as a second trash can. Experts at SB Civil Engineering advise refraining from flushing plastic or other solid wrecks down the sewer pipes.
Toilet paper and human waste are biodegradable materials and won't cause clogging. The water usually breaks these materials down, and so they can be easily flushed. However, the addition of materials that won't dissolve in the water leads to sewage backups.
Pouring Grease Down a Drain
It's a surprisingly common myth that running hot water while discharging grease will flush it out of the pipes.
Spilling grease down your drain can lead to a sewage backup because it hardens into a barrier. This barrier will catch all sorts of other waste, and over time will close off the pipe entirely. Grease is viscous and can even trap materials that shouldn't cause any problems otherwise.
Grease clogging can happen deep inside the pipes. Jams like this can be difficult to get rid of completely and can even ruin the pipes permanently.
Tree Roots Are an Enemy of Sewer Lines
While trees do look wonderful in your yard, they can do serious damage to the sewage system. As they wane, their roots spread out further into the ground. What started as a little, well-contained plant can have roots that lay across your entire yard.
The deeper these roots spread, the more likely they'll strike a sewer line. If this occurs, the roots can pinch, burst, or divert sewer pipes. This issue can cause your sewer to back up and might even need replacement of the sewer line.
Flooding Can Cause a Lot of Trouble
A sewer jam caused by flooding will include more than just your waste. If a pump station is drowned, the complete division of your area's sewer system can be affected.
If there's a power cut during the flood, this problem becomes worse. Various treatment stations and sewer plants use power to keep the return valves isolated. When these collapse, waste of all kinds can jam up the pipes.
A clean up for a mishap of this magnitude is costly. The average goes over $2,500 for recovery from water damage. This is just the beginning. You might have to substitute major appliances damaged in the backup.
Wrapping Up
While growing tree roots and natural disasters are something you can’t control, they aren't that frequent. In many cases, a sewer backup is induced by preventable elements. You must always be vigilant as to what goes into your plumbing system to stop expensive issues.
We hope you found this article helpful. If so, do comment and let us know your feedback!
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