Get a Plumber for Sewage Backups Fast

Understanding Sewage Backups

Sewage backups occur when wastewater can’t properly exit your home, reversing flow back through the sewer pipes. This results in sewage accumulating within your system or escalating to a flooding emergency backing up into your home. Sewage contains bacteria, viruses, and other hazardous contaminants, so a sewage backup can pose a major health risk and lead to extensive water damage if not addressed quickly.

Sewage should normally flow out of your home into your sewer line that connects to your city’s wastewater treatment system. Blockages or overflows in the main sewer or septic tank, often caused by solids, can result in sewage reversing into your home’s pipes.

Any single drain line or wastewater drainage like toilets, sinks, showers, washing machines, and floor drains can allow sewage backup if pipes get clogged.

What Causes Sewage Backups

There are several most common causes sewer backups that can disrupt homes and businesses:

1. Tree roots – These can invade and damage underground sewer pipes over time; regular inspections can help homeowners prevent this persistent issue. As roots grow, they may crack pipes or form obstructions that cause sewage backups.
2. Pipe issues – Aging, damaged, or collapsed sewer pipes are significant contributors to backups. Smaller drain pipes are also vulnerable to becoming clogged sewer lines from grease, hair, and other debris.
3. System overload – Heavy rainfall or widespread power outages can overwhelm sanitary mains, leading to a backup that can force water up through your sewer lines.

Sewage backups commonly affect the lowest areas of a home, like basement floor drains or lower level toilets, leading to potential basement flooding. Initial signs, such as gurgling sounds from pipes, foul odours, and slow drainage, can be predictors of a potential sewer backup in the basement. But in time, raw sewage backs up into properties, which could potentially damage your home extensively.

And the majority start on private property, particularly when your sewer lines are compromised. Proactive maintenance can prevent sewer backups in your home, and it’s crucial to seek a professional plumber’s aid when you notice warning signs.

Tree Roots

Identifying invasive tree roots is vital, as they’re among the leading causes of sewage backups. As trees grow near sewer lines, their roots can spread extensively underground seeking water and nutrients. Over time, invasive roots may find their way into cracks or loose joints in sewer pipes.

Inside pipes, tree roots expand and form dense masses, leading to blockages. As roots proliferate, they can lead to major pipe damage and obstructions that impede waste flow through your drains. Signs of roots in sewer lines include decreased flow from drains, gurgling sounds, sewage odours, and finally backing up in pipes or flooding.

Pipes damaged by tree roots become susceptible to further intrusion and groundwater infiltration. This leads to even more rapid root growth. Additionally, pipes with root infestations are difficult to clear because cutting roots may weaken pipe walls further without removing the central root mass.

Tree roots tend to invade pipes containing cracks, leaks, or joint misalignments. The best way to combat root damage is through early preventive maintenance before backups occur. This may involve trenchless sewer line backup replacement or relining. For existing issues, pipes may need hydrojetting, mechanical rodding, or excavation.

Pipe Damage and Age

Over time, sewer pipes can corrode, crack, shift, or collapse as materials deteriorate. Old sewer pipes often have pipe joints sealed with oakum and mortar which may loosen. Tile, concrete, and clay pipes last around 50-100 years, while modern PVC plastic pipes have a lifespan of 100+ years.

As pipes age, seams open allowing tree roots and groundwater to infiltrate damaged areas. Leaking pipes also settle and misalign. Any of these age-related factors can restrict flow leading to sewage backups.

Pipe damage is indicated by gurgling drains, unpleasant odours, visible seepage, and wet patches above sewer lines in your yard.

For severely deteriorated sewer pipes, replacement is the only remedy. We can perform trenchless sewer relining by inserting a flexible epoxy coating that bonds to the inner walls of damaged pipes to seal leaks and restore flow capacity. For completely collapsed lines or pipes with significant root intrusion, full excavation and thorough measures to fix sewer backup are needed.

Signs of a Pending Sewage Backup

There are several early warning signs that may indicate a sewage backup is pending in your home’s plumbing:

1. Gurgling sounds from pipes or drains
2. Foul sewage odours coming from sinks or toilets
3. Slow draining water from fixtures can signal sewage issues.
4. Pools of standing water in your yard above sewer lines
5. Wet spots that clogs can cause are visible in your basement or near your floor drains

These signs suggest your home can experience a partial blockage in the sewer system that is restricting waste flow. Without urgent attention, the problem can rapidly escalate, leaving you to wonder what to do when your pipes back up with raw sewage into the property.

Other indications a backup may be imminent include your sewage system being affected by recent plumbing repairs or modifications, like new landscaping or tree planting over sewer lines. Neighbourhood construction activity can also overload sewer mains.

If you observe any warning signs, like when your sewer backs up, contact your local plumber as soon as possible for prompt assistance. The faster we can inspect and clear obstructions, the less risk of catastrophic flooding and sewer backs that damage to your home and health hazards from sewage exposure.

What to Do During a Sewage Backup

If you find yourself dealing sewage backup in your home, stay calm and take these steps:

1. If a sewage issue arises, ensure your family vacates the affected area promptly. Raw sewage poses serious health hazards.
2. In case of sewage problems, urgently call professional plumbers like Miranda Plumbing on 1300 349 338. Speed is crucial to limit flooding damage.
3. Identify the backup source and turn off the water supply to affected fixtures to help slow the spread. This may help slow the backup.
4. Don protective gear such as rubber boots and gloves, which are essential as you clean up after a sewage incident. Avoid direct contact with sewage.
5. Open taps and collect water samples for testing if sewage has entered water pipes. Do not use tap water until certified safe.
6. Discard porous items that cannot be thoroughly disinfected after contact with sewage backup.
7. Be prepared to contact your insurance provider to cover sewage cleanup costs and property repairs.

Our team can teach you how handle sewage extraction, professional restoration, and preventative plumbing repairs to get your sewer drain safe again after a backup event. Call Miranda Plumbing today on 1300 349 338 for priority assistance.

Preventing Future Sewage Backups

There are several proactive actions homeowners can undertake to help protect their sewage system:

1. Ensure your sewer lines are professionally inspected with camera technology every 1-2 years. Look for root intrusions, leaks, misalignments, or other damage needing repair.
2. Avoid planting trees with aggressive root systems near your kitchen sink lines. Seek advice on landscaping plants suitable for your yard.
3. Install plumbing fixtures like a backwater valve and a sump pump to stop sewage from backing up from main lines during overflows.
4. Use sink strainers and avoid pouring fats or harsh chemicals down drain. Only human waste and items like toilet paper should be flushed down the toilet.
5. Consider trenchless sewer relining instead of costly full pipe replacement to address root damage or deterioration issues before they escalate.

Notably, about 75% of properties may experience repeat sewage backups after an initial incident. So there are a few steps can take now to inspect and protect your home plumbing.

Routine Maintenance and Inspections

To help prevent backups and ensure your sewer system functions properly long-term, it is crucial to perform routine maintenance and professional drain inspections every 1-2 years. This regular assessment can identify issues early before they escalate into major blockages or failures.

During inspections, plumbers employ drain cameras and pipe scan technology to assess the condition of your sewage lines. if deterioration or defects are discovered down your pipes, we may recommend trenchless sewer relining as a cost-effective preventative solution to reinforce pipes and prevent backups.

We look for root intrusions, cracks, leaks, poor alignments, or any damage needing repair.

We also offer professional drain cleaning as part of maintenance to clear sediment or buildup. This involves hydrojetting pipes using highly pressurised water to scour the entire line and remove debris or materials that could cause a future clog if left unchecked.

Our team performs drain dye testing to confirm proper wastewater flow and check your drain for leaks indicating pipe damage. Taking a proactive approach with annual maintenance allows us to assess risks, fix minor issues, and advise you on any upgrades needed to keep your plumbing and sewer system operating safely for years to come.

Install Protective Plumbing Devices

There are several devices homeowners can install to help prevent sewage backups from entering the property during main sewer overflows or blockages:

Backwater Valves

Check valves, also known as backwater valves (or backflow prevention valves), are installed on the home’s sewer branch pipes connected to main sewer lines. They work like a check valve allowing wastewater to flow out while blocking backflow from the mains entering the property.

Backwater valves provide an economical safeguard against sewage backups during heavy rain or main sewer disruptions. Costing around $250-500, they can prevent extensive flooding that could damage your and contamination inside the home.

Overhead Sewer

An overhead sewer setup lifts waste pipes above basement floor levels before connecting them to municipal sewer mains. This takes advantage of gravity to prevent sewage from backing up through basement drains even if main lines are overwhelmed.

Overhead sewers add $3000-5000 to new home construction costs but eliminate the need for backflow valves and sump pumps. They also reduce service issues from root invasion in buried pipes.

Sump Pumps

Sump pumps provide backup protection by collecting water can seep or overflow, entering the basement and pumping it away from the home to outdoor drains.

Battery backup sump pumps cost $550-1500 but can remove hundreds of gallons of sewage water during a sewer backup while main power is disrupted. Installing both primary and backup units ensures round-the-clock protection against flooding damage inside the basement during outages.

Talk to our team about the best backup prevention solutions for your property’s plumbing.

Hire Us for All Your Plumbing Needs

At Miranda Plumbing, we are your trusted local experts for any plumbing issue, specialising in blocked drains, hot water systems, gas fitting, leaks, taps, and more. With over 15 years serving customers in Miranda and surrounding suburbs, we have the experience and knowledge to solve all your plumbing needs.

Our fully licenced and insured team can assist with varied plumbing issues, including those that back up into your plumbing system:

• Clearing blocked drains and attending to sewer pipe backup
• Repairing, replacing and installing new water heaters
• Detecting and fixing leaks
• General maintenance for optimal plumbing system function

We use the latest technology like drain cameras to inspect problems and determine solutions. And we offer 24/7 emergency plumbing assistance for burst pipes, overflowing toilets, or other urgent issues causing property damage.

Contact our office on 1300 349 338 or email us to schedule affordable drain cleaning, installations, routine maintenance, repairs and more. Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed.