Did you flush the toilet and notice wastewater backing up to your bathtub or bathroom sink? The wastewater outlets in your house connect to one mainline: the sewer. Therefore, in case of an obstruction, the wastewater from the toilet that should drain to the sewer line travels back up through either or all these outlets.

Read about three forms of blockage that can cause toilet wastewater to back up through your other water outlets.

Mild Toilet Blockage

A mild blockage refers to a clog in the toilet, which is often the first reason you experience drained water returning through the other outlets. When an obstruction is in the toilet, the water you flush down the outlet will find other outlets to use, eventually leading the water to come out of the sink or tub.

To ascertain that you have a mild blockage in the toilet, notice how the water reacts after you flush. Does the water level rise, or do you hear funny noises from the toilet like bubbles and gurgles? If that's the case, you can often use a plunger, a snake, or auger to clear the clog and provide a clear pathway for the wastewater to drain to the sewer.

Sewer Line Blockage

Have you noticed that the clog has not cleared? In that case, you likely have a sewer line blockage. You could also have a drain line blockage. The drain pipe and the sewer line are the main areas where wastewater travels away from the house. This is a more severe type of blockage that you shouldn't try to fix with DIY methods. The jam could be too far down the drain line for you to reach, and any attempt could damage your drain pipes.

For sewer line blockages, try and spot any of these signs:

• The water backs up to the tub every time you flush and occurs for every toilet in the home.
• The wastewater drains much slower.
• The gurgling sounds from the toilet are audible in the bathroom tub, sinks, or other water outlets.
• The toilet may overflow.

Also, to be completely sure that the damage may be in the sewer line, confirm with your neighbors if they experience a similar hardship.

If you have confirmed that you indeed have a blocked sewer line, your first call of action should be to call a professional plumber. They can conduct a mechanical clean using their specialized tools such as a motorized auger or high pressure water jet that cleans through the pipes.

With mechanical cleaning, the professionals will often access your drains from the outside sewer rather than the inside, which is why you should leave the job to the plumbers.

You could try a chemical drain clean using enzyme-based drain cleaners like copper sulfate that'll remove any clogs in the drain through waste degradation or a herbicide that works just the same way. But using these chemicals can damage your drain pipes or make the situation worse.

Vent Blockage

The third and last type of blockage to check for is a vent blockage. The vent above the roof provides a clear pathway for air to pass freely from the drainpipe up the vent to avoid gurgling or clogs. If it has a blockage like too much debris or tree branches, it can cause a blockage in the pipes, causing water to back up.

The best solution is to clean the vent pipe to allow for a clear path for air to pass through.

Seek Professional Cleaning

Sometimes, you may not quite understand what's happening to the toilet, and sometimes the situation may be worse. For example, the water may back up even to your kitchen sink. In this case, don't try any of the DIY methods described above, and seek aid from a professional immediately.

For all your plumbing services, leak detection, backflow preventers, and water heater installations, contact us today.