Causes and Remedies of Floor Drain Backups

At Expert Services- Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical, one of our many specialties is providing drain cleaning and pipe clog remediation services for any of our clients as needed. These are some of the most common plumbing issues home and business owners deal with, and they can take place in a variety of areas in a given structure.

One unique type of drain clog that can happen in buildings that contain them: A floor drain backup, often in the basement of a given building. Today’s blog will go over everything you need to know about the potential causes of floor drain clogs and backup concerns, plus how we’ll assist you with removing these issues and preventing similar future clogs.

Basement Floor Drain Concerns

In many cases, floor drain backups are found in the basement floor drain of a given home or building. This is the lowest drain available in most such structures, meaning that when the main drain and sewer line are experiencing backups or clog issues, wastewater will flow to the basement floor drain first.

This process will continue, with wastewater building up in the line until it overflows out of the floor drain and potentially causes significant water damage. If your home or building does not have a basement floor drain, you may see this process take place in whatever the lowest fixtures are in the area – ground-level tubs, sinks or even showers.

Deep Sewer Line Clogs

In other cases, deep sewer line clogs will be the cause of wastewater that isn’t able to properly flow out of the area. Once again, wastewater will simply search for the lowest point to flow to in these cases, which is often the lowest floor drain in the home.

Sewer Pipe Damage

In still other situations, a clog itself will not actually be the problem. Rather, the sewer line and its piping may have damage like cracks, holes, sagging or even a full-on collapse. It’s also possible that tree roots have infiltrated the sewer line and interfered with its ability to drain properly.

In any of these situations, the sewer line will build up a blockage and, once again, force wastewater back into the building. But in these cases, remedying the issue will include addressing the drain issues rather than just removing a clog.

Stopping and Preventing Floor Drain Backups

If you begin to notice floor drain backup issues, we highly recommend calling our expert plumbers to help assess the cause and source of the concerns. We’ll investigate in a number of ways, from asking you about the length and scope of the issue to testing plumbing fixtures and potentially even performing a camera pipe inspection to ascertain the precise cause. From here, we can recommend appropriate repairs.

We’ll also leave you in good shape for the future, preventing these issues from cropping up again. One strong recommendation here will be regular drain cleaning and maintenance services, which we’re happy to provide for a low cost – one that’s far more affordable than dealing with regular clog and backup issues from a non-maintained drain system.

For more on floor drain backups and how to deal with them, or to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC services, speak to the team at Expert Services- Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical today.