Sewage Overflow In Backyard | Cleanout Pipe Leaks

If you notice sewage overflowing in your backyard, there’s something wrong with the underground piping. It could be damaged or blocked plumbing or backflow from the sewer system.

A damaged septic tank or flood water containing sewage might also cause the leak.

Sewage Coming Out of Cleanout Pipe in Yard

Sewer pipes are primarily installed to collect and transport sewage from residential and commercial buildings.

Sewage contains a variety of harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, and toxic chemicals. When left untreated, they can mean disaster for your home and the environment.

In other cases, it’ll cost you money on repairs. Therefore, you’ll need to address the situation as soon as possible.

To help you address such an emergency, this article has gathered valid details on sewage overflow in the backyard. You’ll learn about the warning signals and how to diagnose sewage overflow.

Moreover, we’ll outline some cleaning and safety guidelines. This will ensure your treatment goes smoothly and efficiently. Let’s save time.

 Troubleshoot Sewage Cleanout Overflowing into Yard

Before addressing sewage overflow in your backyard, you must know the root cause. As mentioned earlier, such a disaster can be caused by several factors.

These include cracked, broken, or clogged sewer lines.

Your sewage pipe can get cracked or broken due to some unavoidable elements; high water pressure, a shift in the foundation, corrosion, temperature changes, and tree roots.

Age is another factor that can result in sewage overflow in your home.

Allow us to review a few of these causes.

• Clogged Sewer Line

A blocked sewage pipe can result in an overflow in your backyard. This problem often occurs inside the sewer line, regardless of its diameter. Water will not escape when this happens and will come back through the fixtures.

They include toilet water bubbling, slow drains, and gurgling sounds from gutters. Other signals are toilet paper from an outside drain and a foul odor, indicating decay.

• Cracked Sewer Pipe

Cracked sewage lines are a serious issue that often goes unnoticed. After a while, it can cause severe sewage overflow around your yard.

Luckily, before such a disaster occurs, it’ll send warning signals. You’ll start experiencing a pest infestation, mold, mildew, water leaks, lush spots in the lawn, etc.

Various degrees of fracture can occur with a sewer line. We have minor, moderate, and severe cracks. These fractures can be caused by poor soil bedding, aging pipes, deterioration, and ground movement.

The only remedy for crack issues is to replace the entire system.

Ways to Respond to Sewage Leaking Into Yard

Now that you’ve seen the causes of such an emergency, you must know the way forward. There’re a few ways you can address sewage overflow in the backyard.

They include reducing or stopping water usage, unclogging sewer lines, replacing broken pipes, or inviting a sewer purveyor. Let’s review these remedies.

• Reduce or Stop Water Usage

When faced with sewage overflow, you must cease using water until the issue is resolved. In this case, you’ll turn off your water supply, take no shower, or flush the toilet.

You can also notify your neighbors of the blockage so they can take precautionary steps. This is to prevent sewage from disturbing the peace of their home.

Once you’re done, you go outside and flush your drains immediately.

Call for an emergency if the pipes refuse to flush out due to no water pressure. If not, you’ll release enough water to flood the entire yard and neighborhood.

Remember, sewage contains harmful pathogens and parasites that can threaten people and the environment. Therefore, it should be dealt with by professionals.

• Unclog Sewer Line

You can combat the situation by flushing out a clogged sewer line. Same here; you can start by turning off the water supply.

Next, you run hot water through the pipes and open the sewer cleanout pipe. This will efficiently eliminate clogs without calling a plumber.

However, you must know that this method is only efficient for minor clogs. Suppose it will not work for significant clogs. So don’t be surprised if you tried this method and it didn’t work.

• Seek the Help of a Sewer Purveyor

Having tried the two methods that didn’t work, the last option is to call a sewer purveyor. Such professionals are experienced in handling cases that concern sewage overflow.

A standard company will bring a team of experts and advanced equipment to dispose of these hazardous materials.

In addition to that, they will fix whatever is wrong with your sewer line. However, having sewer purveyors address an overflow in your yard will cost you money.

So you must be financially ready for such an emergency.

Safety Guidelines

Your safety, family, pets, and the environment all matter when addressing this problem. Therefore, you must follow some safety guidelines when handling a sewage overflow in the backyard.

To ensure the safety of everyone, you’ll need to secure affected areas, contain sewage spills, clean up sewage spills, sterilize working tools, and more.

Allow us to talk about a few of these safety tips.

• Secure Affected Area and Protect Yourself

It would be best to prevent your children and pets from reaching affected areas in such a situation.

Secondly, you’ll need to wear protective gear when dealing with sewage overflow at your level. Some research indicates that microbes in raw sewage can enter the body via the nose, mouth, and open wounds.

You must wear rubber gloves, boots, a waterproof bodysuit, goggles, and a mask. If you don’t have this gear, use gardening gloves, sunglasses, rain jackets, jeans, and waterproof hiking boots.

This may offer you some protection.

• Contain Sewage Spill

This protective measure is very critical and delicate as well.

It will prevent sewage from spreading and contaminating a larger area. Additionally, it’ll prevent it from accessing natural water sources or storm drains.

To contain a sewage spill, the first step is to turn off the main water supply. As highlighted above, it will prevent water from entering the sewer.

Once done, you clear out the debris causing the overflow.

Sewage overflow in the backyard can be a severe disaster. The impact will be felt in your yard and throughout the entire neighborhood. If you’re currently faced with such a predicament, right above are some ways to go about it.

However, we suggest you invite a licensed and professional company to handle such an emergency. That’s because sewage overflow isn’t a minor spill and can be disastrous if conducted by an individual.