As homeowners we know that there are pipes underground that carry waste water away from our home, but as long as they are working we most likely don’t give them much thought. Homeowners who understand and respond to their home’s early warning system can stave off severe sewer issues. The most common red flags are water backing up out of a drain or toilet, or a gurgling sound coming from the drains.
Clogs can occur in the main sewer line or one of the secondary lines. If the clog is in the main line that means any water you run in the house will cause problems. If it’s a secondary line, it’s just going to be isolated to that secondary problem. If it’s just the bathroom sink, (for example), it will not go down or it will come back up into the bathtub, but you can flush the toilet and it works perfectly fine. The same way with a kitchen sink; nothing happens anywhere else, but it won’t go down the sink or comes up in the floor drain in the basement.
A very obvious sign of a sewer drain clog is when more than one plumbing fixture backs up at the same time. The toilets in particular are affected by this. They have the most direct path to the sewer and the biggest drain line in the house, so if there is a problem with the sewer drain you will notice it here. It is rare to have a main line sewer stoppage and the toilets are working correctly. But other fixtures can also be involved. If you suspect that you have a sewer drain clog start by checking other fixtures in the home. Other drains typically affected by a main line stoppage are those in the tub and shower. This is due to the fact that they sit lower down than say a sink drain. Check whether the tub and shower drains are blocked.
Tree roots are the primary cause of sewer line clogs, especially in older homes, with feminine hygiene products, paper towels and even certain types of thicker toilet paper a common source of clogging in newer homes.
A sewer drain clog is a very serious problem that can be considered a plumbing emergency. Since the water has no place to go it will all come back up into the household plumbing in one way or another. When you have a sewer drain clog you should not use any of the plumbing in the home until the stoppage is cleared. At Pinky’s Plumbing we know this kind of problem can’t wait. We have same day appointments.
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