Sewer Line Backup Cleanup in Houston, TX

What is a sewer line backup?

A sewer line backup is a blockage in the main line that carries wastewater away from your entire property. When that line is blocked, wastewater has nowhere to go, so it backs up into the building through the lowest drains.

This is different from a single clogged sink or toilet. Because the main line serves everything, a backup there is a whole-property problem, often sending contaminated water up several drains and into more than one room.

How do you know the backup is in the main line?

You can usually tell a main line backup from a single clog by how many fixtures are affected at once. The tell-tale sign is one fixture reacting when you use another.

• Several drains backing up or gurgling at the same time
• The lowest drains overflowing first, such as ground-floor or basement drains
• A tub or shower backing up when a toilet is flushed
• Slow drainage throughout the property, not just in one spot

When using water in one place causes trouble in another, the blockage is usually down the main line.

What causes a main sewer line to back up?

A main sewer line backs up when something blocks or overwhelms it. Common causes include:

• Tree roots growing into the pipe joints
• Grease and debris building up over time
• A collapsed or damaged pipe in the line
• The municipal main or heavy rain overwhelming the system

The cause determines the repair, but the cleanup treats all of it as contaminated black water.

How is a sewer line backup cleaned up?

A sewer line backup is cleaned up by treating every affected area as contaminated and working through each one. Because the sewage can reach several rooms, the cleanup is often larger than a single-room backup.

Crews contain the affected spaces, remove the sewage and the materials it ruined, then disinfect and deodorize what stays. The blockage in the line also has to be cleared so the backup does not simply return, so stopping the cause and cleaning the contamination go together.