Q. How do I know if my main sewer is backing up?

A. Sometimes it can be confusing when determining what drain is actually backing up because sometimes a kitchen sink clog can come up in a floor drain or shower for example.

The best way to test to see if it’s your main line is first you need to understand the mainline will in most cases back up in the lowest drain in the home.

If you have standing water in that drain, simply flush your toilet and watch to see if more water backs up. In most cases, the toilet goes straight into the mainline, so in most cases, this will cause more to back up.

Caution, keep in mind that you can cause flooding when you do this so be mindful of the area the water is backing up in before you make more of a mess, or call out a plumber or drain cleaning company in MI to check it out for you. We provide free estimates so call $99 drain cleaning with any of your drain problems in southeast Michigan

Q. Why does my main sewer drain back up every year?

A. Chances are you may have a tree root problem. Most sewer lines have a bell and hub connection and there is a section of pipe every 3 feet. Fine roots can grow in this part of the line and sometimes the roots or erosion can crack or break your sewer and roots will enter there as well.

You can never stop the roots completely and preventive measures may be needed to keep your line clear so you don’t have a flood in your home or raw sewage backing up into your house.

Our advice would be to have your sewer line inspected with a camera after it’s cleaned out so you know for sure nature of the problem you are having and use preventive measures for these tree roots, scheduling us out once a year to clear out the roots before the problem occurs. We can do it all 6 days a week and we make it easy to get a hold of us to fill out this short form to have a drain cleaning specialist out to your home.