Sewer Backups: Why Do They Happen & What To Do After They Happen

If there’s one thing you don’t want to hear in the middle of the night, it’s your child screaming in the bathroom. Flushing the toilet isn’t supposed to be complicated, but when a sewer backup event happens, it can be terrifying and overwhelming for your child. (And honestly? It’s not much fun for grown-ups, either!)

Sewer backups can happen for a number of reasons. Many of these have to do with clogged pipes, either inside your home, or in the sewer drain lines that connect your home to the municipal system or your home’s septic tanks. Inside the home, clogs are often caused by inappropriately flushed objects, such as baby diapers, hand towels, stuffed animals, or pretty much anything else a toddler can get their hands on. Outside of the home, sewer line clogs can occur for a number of reasons, including an inappropriately flushed item that’s made its way down the pipes, tree roots growing into the lines, weather events crushing or breaking the lines, and more.

Addressing the actual clog is a job for your Westchester plumber. But what about the mess a sewer backup creates inside your home? It’s dirty, nasty, and tough to look at. Sewer backups are composed of waste material, which can be hazardous to your health. Cleaning up this mess is really not a do-it-yourself job. Instead, you’ll want to call in a professional disaster restoration company.

The best disaster response pros handle sewer backups with a combination of cleaning and disinfecting services. You’ll want to choose a disaster response company that uses green products and methods – not only is this choice better for the planet, it’s much, much safer for your family and pets than the toxic, untested harsh chemicals some disaster response services use. Green cleaning products are highly effective – in fact, they meet and exceed the tough standards the government sets for hospital use!

Every bathroom is different. Some homes have tiled or linoleum floors, while others have carpets or throw rugs in this area. The exact scope of services you’ll need to recover from your sewer backup will depend on the type of flooring you have, any impact the sewer backup had on your walls or other surfaces, and the size of the mess. It’s really important to get help promptly for all water damage: the longer a sewer backup is present in your home, the longer it has to soak into permeable surfaces.

Sewer backup cleaning services may be covered by your home owner’s insurance. You’ll want to talk to your agent for details. Most insurance companies have a list of preferred providers they’re willing to work with: no matter what company you choose, make sure it’s on that list!