If you’re experiencing slow drains around the home, unpleasant odors emanating from sinks and toilets, or damp spots appearing in your house’s basement or foundation, then you may have a backed up sewer. This is one of the most alarming of all plumbing problems for a homeowner, since it threatens important household functions and can make it difficult to live comfortably.

However, we don’t want you to panic about a backed up sewer: with the right professional help, you can get the problem repaired fast and without hassles. For any sewer backup problems in Aurora, IL , call on Lifeline Plumbing and we’ll take care of the work for you.

We’ll help you understand the reasons that sewer backups happen in the first place:

Too much garbage put down the drains

The drains in your home are not the same as a  trash can. You can’t throw anything down into them and expect it will simply vanish. Waste water is about as much as you want going down drains. If a large object that doesn’t belong in the drain gets down into the lateral service pipe between your home and the city’s main sewer line, it will cause a massive backup problem. (And, since it isn’t in the municipal line, the responsibility for this repair rests with the homeowner.) You can also cause this problem with grease and fat poured down drains, since they turn solid when they cool.

Tree roots

This might at first seem like an uncommon problem—but it’s actually one of the main reasons that we see sewer backups. Roots grow along the path of least resistance toward water, and this means they can infiltrate pipes and begin to grow into them. Pressure from root growth can also cause breaks, bringing in dirt to block up sewer lines.

Aging pipes

This is a problem for older properties, where the pipes might be made of a less resistant and flexible material than currently used. Corrosion can easily eat away at older material, weakening the pipes and causing breaks and leaks.

You may not be able to diagnose the cause of the sewer backup yourself, but plumbers with high-tech tools can rapidly pinpoint the source. Once they’ve done that, they’ll know how to fix it.

Contact Lifeline Plumbing today if you think you have a sewer backup in your Aurora, IL home. From fixing small leaks to whole-house pipe refitting, we do it all.