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Buying a home is a huge endeavor. Not only must you acquire financing for your home, you must make sure the house you want passes various inspections. When it comes to inspections, you may think that having the roof, foundation and basic plumbing is enough – it is not enough. One important aspect that potential homeowners often neglect to inspect is the sewer.

The sewer is a vital part of any home. It is the system through which all wastewater exits your home’s plumbing system. If the sewer of a home fails in any way, it can quickly become a disastrous and expensive situation. In some cases, sewer pipes wind up having to be excavated from the ground and replaced. Before you ever purchase a home, make sure you hire a professional to come in and inspect the sewer. Read more

Sewer problems can quickly turn your blissful day into a nightmare. When the toilet doesn’t flush or the sink doesn’t drain, you know that there is a problem.

Knowing that there is a problem is easy enough; actually pinpointing the problem can be a challenge.

Even if you have a fairly good idea of where the issue lies, such as a clog, it can be hard to even get to the clog. This is why you need to know the location of your sewer line clean out.
Read more

If you have ever walked into your basement and you were confronted with the aroma of a sewer, panic probably sets in. How do you determine where the smell is coming from and what it is?

There are several common culprits to look for when this occurs.

The two most common areas of the sewer smell are the laundry room and the bathroom. Choose an area to inspect to start eliminating the reason for the smell in your home. Any floor drains that do not have water traps or a cleanout plug in them allow sewer gas to come up through the drain. Water evaporates from not using the drain, which is a common problem. The simple solution is to add water to replenish the trap and eliminate the smell in your basement. If there is no cleanout plug, add one and the sewer gas will not be able to enter your home any longer.
Read more

A septic tank is a sewage-treatment system that is quite common in areas not connected to the main sewer line. While urban areas have a sewage system in place, many rural communities rely on separate septic tanks for each property.

Maintaining your septic tank requires more than unclogging a drain when things back up. Because your septic tank is vital to keeping your home safe and secure, regular maintenance is crucial to avoid problems down the road.

The most basic maintenance, which is draining the septic tank, should occur approximately every four years, depending on usage. This prevents buildup of sludge and grease and keeps leakage from seeping into your drain field. This simple procedure is low cost to you and easy for the professional with the right equipment. Read more

When your sewer backs up, it can leave a horrendous mess for you to clean up. The sewage that enters your home and/or your yard can contain harmful bacteria. It is a mess that must be dealt with and it must be dealt with in a timely manner. The longer you leave sewage to sit, the more risk you are taking with your health and the health of your family. Knowing how to clean up after your sewer backs up can help prevent any potential problems.

Put on safety equipment before cleaning up the sewage. This can include rubber gloves, rubber boots, rubber coat, and a face shield. It is important to protect your body from the accidental splash of sewage.

Make sure all of the utilities to your home are shut off if the sewage has backed up into your home. This includes gas and electricity. Appliances and outlets could be affected by the sewage, so have your local providers turn the utilities off until the problem is resolved.

Remove any standing water with a pump or a wet/dry vacuum. Once the water is gone, you can begin sorting items into two piles – keep and toss. Your “keep” pile is for items that can be cleaned and used again. The “toss” pile is for items that must go to the garbage, such as carpeting and toys. Read more

Sewer problems are a mess – literally.

Having issues with your sewer can lead to a variety of problems within your home. For instance, you could have raw sewage back up into your home, exposing you and your family to dangerous bacteria.

If you are experiencing sewer problems, you have to determine where the problems start. Only by getting to the root of the problem can you begin to make needed repairs. Read more

Buying a house is a lengthy process. Potential buyers have a vision in their minds about the kind of house they want. They know what they are looking for and they have the upper hand because if they do not like a home, they can walk away.

It takes time and effort to find the perfect home. Once a buyer finds a house that they like, there is still a process to be followed.

An important part of the house-buying process is having the house inspected. Buyers should never buy a home without having it inspected from top to bottom. While obvious factors should be inspected, such as the roof and the foundation, one area that many buyers might overlook is sewage or septic contamination. Read more

There is nothing quite as distressing as flushing your toilet and watching the water start to rise. A clogged toilet can cause a lot of damage, especially if it is not fixed quickly. There are many reasons why your toilet could be clogged. Small children have a tendency to flush things. Sometimes tree roots break through the pipes and cause clogs. Another reason why your toilet could be clogged is the toilet paper you use.

People tend to overlook their toilet paper as a clogging culprit. The truth is that while marketers have been doing a better job with promoting extra strong and soft toilet paper benefits, the same benefits that are a plus to you may be a minus to your pipes and sewer system. If you have older pipes, you may be even more at risk.

While some countries resort to not flushing anything, including toilet paper, that isn’t an option for us here in America. We like the convenience and cleanliness of flushing. So the key then becomes finding the best toilet paper available that gets the job done, and keeps your pipes and sewer system at minimal risk. Read more

Do you ever stop to consider what happens when you flush a toilet, take a shower, or wash the dishes?  The wastewater flows down the drain and out of your home, but what happens to it then?

Modern plumbing consists of a complex series of pipes, lifts, and treatment plants, but what is the significance of all this?  Is it really that important to properly dispose of and deal with sewage?  To answer this question, let’s consider what could happen if sewage seeped into ground water.

If sewage seeped into ground water, one of the most obvious affects would be the contamination of drinking water sources.  Wastewater is full of coliform bacteria like E.coli.  We are all aware of how sick that can make you.  So, if sewage did infect ground water, our drinking water (and the water animals drink) would potentially be polluted by harmful, even deadly bacteria. Read more

Modern sanitation is a true marvel.  Americans enjoy a cleaner (less smelly) environment largely due to the amazing advances in plumbing.  We all know basically what happens when you flush one toilet.  But what would happen if every toilet in the US were flushed at the same time?

Since no one has ever attempted such an experiment before the true results are a bit of a mystery.  However, with the science and mathematics available, sanitation experts can give us a pretty realistic scenario.  But before we can appreciate the answer, we need to gain a better understanding of the system itself. Read more

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