Nothing will create more havoc in your life than a sewer line backup. Most of us tend to ignore thinking about plumbing problems until the moment when something goes terribly wrong. A sewer line backup is a disaster, potentially leaving your home uninhabitable until it is resolved. Once the backup is handled, you are left with the bills associated with cleanup, as well as replacing damaged furniture, flooring, or walls.

Protect Your Home with Sewer Line Backup Prevention

As a homeowner, you want to protect your investment. After all, for most people, the home holds more value than any other possession. Installing a sewer backflow preventer can protect against the high costs you would face if the sewer line reversed flow and spewed toxic substances into your home. Sound unlikely? This problem is far more common than most homeowners know. Some of the reasons a sewer line will back up, and potentially seriously damage a home, include:

  • Storm waters: As storm waters flood into the sewer system, the volume may be more than the system can handle. As it fills, eventually the water and sewage have no place to go – except back up the pipes, and eventually into homes and businesses.
  • Clogged sewer lines: Debris and roots will eventually clog the sewer line. Although the line under the street may be the responsibility of the city, the line from the street into your home is up to you to maintain. If roots begin to choke the flow, drains will start to slow, and eventually, toxic water will pour into your home. Beyond the importance of having your drains cleaned every year or at least periodically, installing a sewer check valve could save you from a real financial disaster.   
  • Broken sewer lines: Many areas of the city had sewer lines installed in the far distant past. Typically, they are not repaired until something goes wrong. Broken, cracked, or collapsed pipes, blockages, corrosion, leaks, and other problems can lead to a backup, with toxic sewer water flowing into your home, making it unlivable.

Sewer Check Valve: Saving Your Home

A sewer check valve can be installed in your home to protect against the risk of a sewer backup. In installing any preventative system, it is critical that you use the most qualified plumbing company in the area. The type of sewer backflow check valve appropriate to your home, the type of sewer line in your area, and finding the right location for the valve are vital points in having this protective system work as it should.

Water Flows Downhill – Until it Can’t.

Water and sewage flows down, but when it no longer has an area to fill, it naturally backs into any area it can reach. If you have the right sewer backflow preventative system installed, that toxic water and waste will not flow into your home. As this water is a terrible mix of highly toxic waste, if it enters your home, it will require specialized cleaning services, performed by a team geared up in hazmat suits. Any of your personal possessions that touched the sewer backup material will have to be disposed of.

The costs involved will be extensive – why not avoid the risks altogether, and speak with our professionals at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing in Cedar Rapids? We can inspect your home plumbing system and advise you on the correct type of protection to install — and we always treat your home and your time with respect. Call us to find out more about sewer backup protection.