Walking downstairs and seeing a basement drain backing up, with a pond of dirty water, is the nightmare of every homeowner. Drains in the basement floor are often forgotten and neglected until water begins to gurgle back up instead of flowing out as it should. A basement drain backing up is also one the most difficult clogs to diagnose, as water seeks the lowest level to escape. Therefore, the source of the clog may is usually not the basement floor drain itself.
Thankfully basement drain backups are fixable by a knowledgeable sewer and drain cleaning contractor. Water backing up into the basement from the basement drain usually indicates an obstruction, but that obstruction can be virtually at any point in your home drainage system. That’s why calling a professional drain service is so important.
There are several different types of drains in a basement such as:
- In-floor drains
- Bathroom systems with toilet and sink drains
- Kitchen drains for the sink and dishwasher
- Drains for other appliances such as laundry washing machines
Finding the clog causing the basement to swim in dirty water is often difficult. Water under pressure is constantly seeking the lowest and easiest way of escaping. This means that a clog in the washing machine drain could result in water coming out of the floor drain. This deception makes diagnosing the clog difficult but not impossible. In other cases a main house sewer clog will result in a basement drain backing up. Unless the point of a clog is pin pointed, opening the wrong clean out can result in a flood of sewer water.
Clearing a basement drain backing up
Cleaning up the pond in the basement and eliminating the clog requires special equipment. Merely pumping out the water does not solve the underlying problem. A professional will likely have these tools handy when arriving on the scene:
- A hand auger to clear clogs on smaller and more delicate drain lines
- An electric sewer snake to fish out the clog on larger drain lines
- High-Pressure water jets to blow out grease and dirt
- A sewer camera provides the much-needed visual perspective to pinpoint the problem
Preventing a basement drain back up
Sometimes prevention is not that difficult. It can simply mean clearing out drain strainers and gratings in your basement. If you have a sewer smell in your basement, it can mean just adding some water into a dried out drain, which will fill back up the trap with water. Water in your drain traps is the barrier between you and sewer gases. Making sure all trap and clean out plugs and caps are on tightly can also prevent the escape of sewer water and sewer gases.
Basement drains are easy to forget until they become clogged. But when they do become clogged, trust the Balkan Drain Team to have the most modern array of equipment, and the most highly skilled technicians. Contact The Balkan Drain Team for more information about basement drain backups and sewer line clogs.
