What to do when you have a blocked sewer
This is not a situation you look forward to writing on your Christmas cards. "Had a great holiday on the beach in the summer, Little Johnny lost his first tooth and we had raw sewage all over the front lawn from our blocked sewer ." Yikes, not a lovely story. Unfortunately, blocked pipes can happen to even the most fastidious of us.
Even if you and your family are doing all the right things in your home to prevent the wrong stuff from going down the toilet or drain, sewer pipes can become blocked. Ensuring nothing except for the three P's (pee, poo and paper) gets flushed down the loo and putting a sink strainer or guard on the drain's in the sinks and bath is a great way to minimise sewer blockage. However, tree root intrusion, sewer pipe collapse and ground movement can happen to anyone.
How to know if you have a potential sewer blockage?
Blocked sewers usually don't happen overnight, although sometimes it seems like it. The are many little signs to keep an eye for, such as:
- sinks and baths are slow to drain
- smells begin to come up the drain
- gurgling sounds after you flush or let water down the drain
- the water level is slowly getting higher or lower in the toilet bowl
- water pooling around a floor drain
All of the above can indicate trouble is brewing.
What to do if you have a blocked sewer?
Firstly, don't panic. And don't keep flushing. If it didn't go the first time, the second and third times could just overflow the toilet onto the floor. Go outside and check under the drain inspection cover. If the inspection pit is empty of water (and other stuff) the blockage is probably in the pipes within or under the house. If it is full, the sewer blockage could be in the sewer pipes further along. Time to call in the professionals.
If the problem is within or under the house the first call would be to a licenced plumber to see if they can dislodge and remove the sewer blockage. If the blocked sewer is more severe, such as in the larger sewer pipes in your yard, calling in a drain repair specialist such as Reline Solutions is your best bet.
A blocked drain technician will have all the professional equipment needed to get to the bottom of the problem. Our team use a CCTV sewer camera to identify where and what is blocking the sewer drain. To remove the blockage we would use water jetting or, in tougher jobs, a robotic cutter. The robotic cutter can remove even the most stubborn drain blockages.
The moral of the story is, to get onto the issue before it becomes an 'ankle deep in raw sewage' problem. If it's slowing, smelling or gurgling get it checked out.
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