Most homeowners notice quickly when water is slow to drain from the sink or shower, but mistakenly believe the cause can only and simply be a clogged house drain. If you notice multiple drains throughout your home are slow to empty, or water backs up into another drain after you flush you toilet or turn on your dishwasher, then you could have a clogged sewer line. As is usually the case, we do not always recognize and/or catch the warning signs or we keep putting off repairs for a “better time.” Eventually it all does come to a head when all the drains in your house start backing up. Although water backing up does not seem disastrous, all house drains are connected to the sewer line. A clogged sewer line could send grossly contaminated sewage water back up into your drains and even flood your basement or bathroom.

If water is only backing up into multiple drains, the most expedient solution is to call a plumber. A plumber will be equipped to unclog and restore your plumbing system to normal. If unfortunately, you did not catch the problem until sewer water is flooding your bathroom or basement, the first step is to shut off the water. Make sure that everyone in your household knows the location of the water shut off valve. If the backup is occurring near electrical outlets, immediately cut power to the affected area. If you do not know specifically which breaker to switch off, then it is better to just shut off your entire home, rather than facing the risk of getting electrocuted. Besides unclogging the sewer line, it is very important the contaminated water is removed as soon as possible. Sewage water can contain hazardous contaminants, like bacteria, viruses, nitrates, metals and bloodborne pathogens. It is not recommended that you try to extract the water yourself. If you must enter the soiled area, make sure your body is completely covered and that you wear gloves and tall rubber boots. Do not pick up items that have come in contact with contaminated water.

Sewer water displays a hazard to you, your home and your family’s wellbeing. Let the expertly trained restoration technicians at Dry Kings Restoration properly extract and clean up the sewage water from your home. Within an hour, our technicians can be on site vacuuming out the contaminated water, helping you salvage any furnishings or furniture (if any), and spraying antimicrobial cleaners to sanitize the affected room. It is important to note, if the affected room is carpeted or has wood flooring, more than likely any saturated carpet or wood flooring will have to be removed and discarded or else mold will grow underneath it. Our technicians will also check if the surrounding walls are wet and if necessary, start mitigating the water damage.

Dry Kings Restoration has vast experience mitigating water damage in San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma and other Bay Area counties. We are available to respond in the event of an emergency 24/7 and are dedicated to minimizing the damage and disruption in your life as much as possible.