How to Deal with Sewage Backup into a Basement
Anyone who has dealt with a basement sewage flood knows what a costly, frustrating and smelly problem it can be. By far the most cost-effective and least labor-intensive ways to avoid a sewage backup into your basement are preventative in nature, designed to keep sewage underground where it belongs. But should sewage back up into your basement, you will need to act quickly to protect your family and stave off any further damage. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Remove people and pets from the basement immediately. Standing water in the basement leaves anyone in the basement at risk of electrocution. Even if no one is standing in the water, gases produced by sewage, such as hydrogen sulfide and methane, can be dangerous after prolonged exposure.
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Contact a plumber right away. Sewage basement backups become more problematic the longer they are left unresolved. Check references and contact more than one plumber to get different estimates, but don't waste too much time before having a plumber locate the source of the leak and fix it right away. Note that a standard plumber does not always have the expertise or equipment necessary to clean up a sewage flood, so you may need to contact a sewage cleanup specialist instead, who can provide a vacuum truck, disinfectant and fans for drying out the affected area.
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Exercise regular preventative maintenance to prevent another backup. If your home uses a septic system, pump the septic tank regularly as a full septic tank is one of the leading causes of basement sewage flooding. Seal cracks and openings on the outside of the basement to prevent melted snow and rainfall from entering the plumbing system. Never throw down the sink or flush down the toilet grease, paper or other items that could cause a blockage between your home and the sewer mainline. Also, never cultivate trees or deep-rooted plants above a septic drain field or above sewer lines that are close to the soil surface. Another major cause of a sewage flood into the basement occurs when tree roots grow into sewage or drain field pipes and fracture them.
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