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How to Bounce Back Fast from Water or Sewer Damage

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One of the worst things that can happen in your home is water or sewer damage. It’s not only a complete mess, but if not treated immediately, is dangerous, expensive, and destructive.

Water Damage

Due to unforeseen circumstances like burst pipes, undetected leaks or flooding, water damage causes a lot of damage unless the water is removed quickly.

Potential Problems from Water Damage

It’s important that all of the water be removed quickly and completely. If not, damage escalates. Some of the damage and loss comes in the form of saturated drywall, swelling or rotted wood, rusted metal and the onset of mold and bacteria.

A professional water damage restoration company has the equipment to remove a lot of water very quickly. After that, industrial strength drying equipment is brought in to thoroughly dry all affected areas while moisture levels are monitored. They will clean and sanitize your home to prevent mold, bacteria growth and odors.

A professional service will also remove unsalvageable items and throughout the process, works directly with your insurance company.

Sewer Damage

There aren’t too many things worse than a sewer backup.

Sewer backups can be caused by long tree roots, old or damaged sewer lines and clogged drains. Older homes with older sewer lines are at greater risk to experience sewer backups.

There are usually warning signs that a sewer backup is coming.

  • Slow drains, always start in fixtures at the lowest level (first floor, basement)
  • Clogs in multiple drains; wastewater is not able to pass
  • Leaking or sewage coming from the cleanout pipe (located outside, in the basement)
  • Bubbling sinks, toilets
  • A foul, sewer smell coming from drains
  • Sewage coming up through floor drains or showers
  • High water levels in floor drain

Potential Problems from Sewer Damage

Because of the dangers associated with sewer water backups, you should always call in a professional to manage the cleanup.

To say sewer water is contaminated is an understatement. It may contain any type of human or industrial waste.

Sewer water is dangerous because it has high levels of bacteria which exposes homeowners to diseases of the worst kind. Even breathing in sewer water vapors can make you very sick.

Sewer water puts you at risk for E. coli and Hepatitis A. Airborne contaminants and pathogens can trigger asthma attacks and respiratory distress.

A certified restoration company will clean up the wastewater, in addition to your furniture, carpet and other items affected by the damage. They have the products to safely restore your home by disinfecting and deodorizing to kill and stop the spread of fungus and bacteria throughout.

The experts at RCS are only a phone call away, 24 hours a day. RCS has been proudly serving Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, and the North Bay area since 1975. We have the knowledge, equipment, and experience to manage the entire restoration of your home after water or sewer damage.

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Broken Sewage Pipe? Now What!?

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A home sewage line is an often-over-looked aspect of one’s home, but that doesn’t make it any less of a concern. While physical damage to the line is uncommon, a back-up isn’t, and these are rarely covered by your insurance! Since back-ups are often caused by the owner (and a lot of physical damage is preventable), you’ll likely end up paying out of pocket for the damages- which can be a lot if the back-up floods your home and damages everything!

Insurance: Good for Little

There are only a few things your homeowner’s insurance will cover and those are mostly environmental:

  • Falling objects, volcano eruptions, and vehicles/aircrafts.
  • Riots and vandalism.
  • Hail, windstorm, explosions, lighting, and fire.

Unfortunately, those problems are very unlikely and the more likely causes for a sewage problem are not covered by your insurance:

  • Poor Upkeep
  • Faulty construction
  • Preventable/Negligent Error

What You Can Do!

A helpful thing you can do as a homeowner is get a Sewage BackUp Endorsement which provides extra coverage for a small annual increase, but your best bet is to prevent a problem from happening in the first place by:

  • Dispose grease and paper products properly (like paper towels, diapers, and feminine products).
  • Maintain your sewer lateral (this is the pipeline between your house and the city’s main sewer line).
  • A long-term option is to replace existing pipes with plastic, because tree roots can’t penetrate them and cause leaks.
  • Locate your sewer line BEFORE something happens- just in case!
  • Know how to identify symptoms like: slow drains in sinks and bathtubs, gross smells, and mold inside the house are common signs that a larger problem is imminent.

If you do run into a back-up, here’s what you should do:

  • Act quickly! Turn off the water immediately; the longer you take, the more time the problem has to cause damage.
  • Save yourself time and money by setting up a video inspection; this relatively inexpensive service allows the professionals to locate the exact nature of the problem and how to fix it effectively.
  • Once the problem has been identified, it’s time to fix the broken pipe! Fortunately, if you’ve done a video inspection, then that fee will likely roll into the price of the repair.
  • Don’t forget to hire clean-up specialists. (This leak has the potential to cause more damage with mold, so attend to it immediately!)

All in all, what you as a Sonoma County homeowner need to know is: how to prevent a sewage backup, how to identify an imminent problem, where your sewer line is in case of an emergency, where the water shut-off valve is, and who to call when a pipe bursts. Remember, act fast!

What Is The Biggest Threat From Sewer Damage?

What Is The Biggest Threat from Sewer Problems?

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The thought of sewer problems is enough to make any homeowner’s blood run cold. These problems are often extensive, expensive and almost impossible to predict.

Sewer problems occur when something happens to the outflow line that connects your home to the municipal sewer system where you live. When everything is in good working order, wastewater simply leaves your home bound for the treatment plant, and all is well.

However, when something happens to disrupt the wastewater flow, bad things happen. Today we’re going to take a look at the biggest threat to your home from sewer problems.

Understanding a Sewer Line Blockage

Blockages in a variety of forms are the main culprit behind sewer line problems. Often, blockages occur from interference, such as tree roots penetrating the sewer line, or from internal issues, like grease and other waste backing up the pipe.

There are, of course, other problems that can cause a sewer line issue. These include breaks, punctures and leaky joints.

If you have a sewer line blockage or break, you will become aware of the problem fairly quickly. Often, sewer line issues present themselves with slowly draining shower and sink drains. This may be accompanied by slight backflow and overflow into basement drains.

Obviously reduced drain speed and backed up drains can lead to flooding issues, particularly if a sewer line problem is overlooked for too long.

Sewer Problems and Homeowner’s Insurance

The biggest problem with a sewer backup, blockage or break is that sewer problems are not covered under most homeowner’s insurance policies. This means that the cost for repair or replacement and any residual issues from flooding are the homeowner’s responsibility alone.

Additionally, sewer line maintenance is the owner’s responsibility up until the point where the line intersects with the city’s main line. In the event of a sewer line failure, you as a homeowner are entirely responsible for every aspect of repair up to the intersection. This includes the underground area both on your property, and likely underneath the sidewalk and road in front of your house.

Sewer line repairs are very expensive – often running homeowners upward of $10,000 to repair. There is, unfortunately no way to predict when sewer line problems will occur. Additionally, you won’t get the money invested into a repair when you go to sell your home, because a functional sewer line is simply something you just have to have.

Catching problems quickly and being diligent about what items leave the home through your sewer line are the best ways to minimize the likelihood of running into sewer trouble.