One of the most important components of your home’s plumbing system is its sewer line. It allows wastewater to travel from your home to the city’s sewer supply or your septic tank, depending on your location. Unfortunately, sewer clogs can happen occasionally and create real chaos for your home.
What Is a Sewer Backup?
A sewer backup occurs when a clog develops in your main sewer line. When the clog gets so big that it won’t allow wastewater to pass through it, your wastewater will start to back up. If you keep putting wastewater down your drain without realizing that you have a backup, eventually, it will start to back up into your plumbing fixtures.
The thought of wastewater in your fixtures can be quite distasteful, to say the least. Not only is it unpleasant, but wastewater can also cause significant damage to your home and create a toxic environment due to the harmful sewage odors. It only makes sense to follow a few tips to avoid dealing with a sewage backup issue.
Avoid Draining FOG Items
FOG is an acronym for fats, oils, and grease. While all these substances will be in a liquid form when they start going down your drain, they will easily turn into gel as they cool down. This substance is the perfect attractant for things like hair and soap scum, which will lead to clogging of your sewer line.
Avoid draining any of these items. Instead, have a place to dispose of them, like an empty can next to your sink. This will ensure that you can easily dispose of your FOG items without being tempted to flush them down your drain.
Restrict What You Flush
Your toilets can be one of the biggest contributors to sewer drain clogging. When items like wipes and feminine hygiene products are flushed, they can catch on anything present inside your sewer piping. Avoid flushing these items and instead opt for having a waste basket in each bathroom to provide a great alternative disposal method.
Annual Hydro-jetting Service
Over time, debris can naturally accumulate inside your sewer piping. Unfortunately, the more debris accumulates, the more likely you are to experience a sewer backup. Annual hydro-jetting service can be a great way to help scour the inside of your sewer piping to remove any stuck-on debris. This is a safe and sanitary method for clearing out your pipes.
Invest in Drain Strainers
While you may try your best to prevent hazardous items from going down your drain, sometimes items may slide past. This is where investing in affordable drain strainers comes into play. These should go in your kitchen sink, bathroom sinks, and showers to catch any loose debris before it enters your drain. Just be sure to keep up with regular cleanings so that your wastewater can still drain effectively.
Use Your Garbage Disposal Correctly
A garbage disposal can be a great investment for any homeowner. It handles unintentional waste going down your drain and reduces the amount of waste that your cooking produces. However, it’s imperative that you use your garbage disposal correctly so that it can stay in good working condition.
Avoid putting fruit pits, seeds, fruit rinds, eggshells, coffee grounds, and other similar items down your garbage disposal. Furthermore, ensure that your disposal is receiving yearly maintenance service so that its blades stay in tip-top condition. Dull blades can allow large food particles to travel down your drain and lead to an unintentional clog.
Avoid Planting Trees and Shrubs Near Your Sewer Line
One key problem that many homeowners end up dealing with is tree root intrusion in their sewer line. When your sewer line develops a crack, even a small one, it will allow some wastewater to seep out. Tree roots can use wastewater as a natural fertilizer. For this reason, they’ll continually grow into the crack and make it bigger and bigger. The tree roots will attract debris in your wastewater and can lead to a clog. To prevent tree root intrusion in your sewer lines, avoid planting any shrubs or trees near your sewer line.
Get a Sewer Backflow Valve
Probably one of your best lines of defense against a sewer backup is to invest in a backflow valve. In fact, many building codes require these valves due to their usefulness. A backflow valve will allow wastewater to flow down your sewer line. However, it has a flap that will close when any wastewater tries to travel back up from your sewer line. This will prevent most of your wastewater from backing up into your plumbing fixtures.
Upgrade Old Sewer Pipes
Old sewer piping is known to deteriorate over time. Metal piping, especially, will have internal corrosion. This creates a rough environment that will catch debris in your wastewater and lead to a clog in your sewer line. It’s best to have a professional evaluate the state of your sewer line during your annual inspection service and upgrade your line when it starts to deteriorate.
Keep an Eye Out for Signs of a Developing Blockage
While there are a ton of preventative measures that you can take to help reduce your risk of experiencing a sewer backup, you always want to be mindful of any potential signs that a clog is developing. The sooner you can identify the problem, the sooner you can get drain clearing service and eliminate the clog from your system.
An obvious sign is water that is very slow to drain or won’t drain at all. In some cases, you may get a foul odor radiating from your drains while in others you may hear a gurgling noise after using the fixture. If you look outside, you may notice wastewater pooling on your lawn or you may see luscious green patches right over where your sewer line runs. If you notice any of these signs of a developing clog in your sewer line, it’s time to bring in a professional for sewer line repair to get it fixed.
Regular Septic Pumping Service
If your sewer line runs to a septic tank on your property, then you need to ensure your septic tank is getting regular pumping service. The frequency of pumping usually runs between every one to five years. However, how frequently your septic tank needs to be pumped will depend on numerous factors, such as its overall size, your water usage, and so much more.
Reliable Sewer Clearing Service
Christian Brothers Air Conditioning Plumbing Electrical offers reliable sewer clearing service to the Glendale, AZ, region. But we’re more than just a full-service plumber. We can also help with all your heating, air conditioning, plumbing, electrical, air handler, indoor air quality, AC filter, UV air sanitizer, duct repair, and insulation needs. Call our super-friendly staff today to book an appointment.
