There are few things more annoying as a homeowner than walking into your basement and finding a swimming pool of stinky wastewater. It’s been known to happen, however, particularly during heavy spring rainstorms when storm water enters sewers, which can overload the main lines and spill into your home.
Sewer backups can also happen if something like grease, excess waste, or even tree roots plug up the line running into your home. Pouring that oil down the drain doesn’t seem like such a great idea now, does it? No matter what the cause, however, here are a few ways to prevent a sewer backup and basement flooding.
Install a floor drain plug: Plugging the floor drain, where most backups and floods happen, is the simplest way to prevent a basement flood. The best kind of plugs includes floats that allow any standing water to drain out of your basement. The cheapest version, which are simply rubber plugs, prevent water from flowing in either direction—picking that kind means you’d be stuck with standing water.
Use a standpipe: A standpipe is actually two pieces: a metal “donut” with a rubber gasket and a pipe that’s stuck in the middle. A 3-foot pipe suffices in the vast majority of cases; only with major floods will you get enough of a back-up to “blow” the pipe.
Install a backup valve: A backup valve is installed during construction in a manhole in the yard so there’s less disruption and you don’t have to worry about pipes breaking under the basement floor. When the sewer backs up, the valve shuts tight and doesn’t allow water to flow through. The best part about this is that it’s fully automatic and can even work during surface flooding.
You shouldn’t have to worry about your basement flooding. Call the Essig plumbing experts today!
