Sewer backup service in Salem when wastewater comes up

A sewer backup does not come out of nowhere. Something in the lateral, often roots, a sag full of standing waste or a broken joint, finally closes the pipe. With nowhere to go, wastewater from upstairs finds the lowest opening, which might be a basement floor drain, a shower, or a toilet on the bottom floor.

The first goal is to stop the water from rising. The second is to open the line so the house can drain again. The third is to find out why it happened, because a backup cleared without knowing its cause tends to repeat. We handle all three on the same visit whenever we can.

Stopping the overflow in the first minutes

Until the line is open, every gallon used in the house adds to the backup. Shutting off water use is the single most useful thing a homeowner can do, and it buys time until the plumber arrives with a machine.

• Stop using sinks, toilets, the washer and the dishwasher
• Ask everyone in the house not to shower or flush
• Keep kids and animals out of rooms with contaminated water
• Turn off power to outlets or appliances near standing water
• Leave the outside cleanout cap closed until we arrive

Relieving pressure at the cleanout

When the line is backed up, the cleanout pipe is full of wastewater under a little pressure. We open the cap slowly and in a controlled way, letting the water drain out of the cleanout into a safe area rather than the house. That often stops the rise inside right away.

From that same cleanout we run a heavy cable toward the street, cut through the blockage and let the trapped water flow out to the city sewer. Following up with a broader cutter brings the pipe back closer to its full size.

Finding out what caused the backup

Once the line is flowing, we look at what came back on the cable and run a camera when the situation calls for it. Roots in clay joints, a belly holding waste, an offset joint, a collapsed section of Orangeburg or a mass of wipes each point to a different next step.

Knowing the cause helps you decide whether regular cleaning is enough or whether a section of lateral needs repair or replacement. It also gives you clear footage of the pipe to share with anyone else involved in the cleanup, such as a restoration crew.

Cleanup, contamination and your crawlspace

Sewage carries bacteria, so anything it soaked, such as carpet, drywall or stored boxes, may need to be removed rather than dried. In crawlspace homes the water often runs under the floor onto the vapor barrier and soil, where it needs to be cleaned out and dried properly.

Our job is the plumbing: stopping the backup, clearing the line and repairing the pipe. We tell you what we saw so you can plan the cleanup, and we explain how to use the house safely while it is under way.