Had a pretty gross situation last weekend when the sewer line backed up into our basement. Um, yeah...not fun at all. Anyway, after some frantic googling and panicking (mostly panicking), I managed to get things under control. Here's what I did step-by-step:
1. Immediately stopped using water in the house—no flushing, showers, laundry, nothing.
2. Shut off the main water valve just to be safe.
3. Checked the cleanout pipe outside to see if it was overflowing (it was).
4. Called the city first to make sure it wasn't their issue (it wasn't, of course).
5. Got a plumber out ASAP who snaked the line and cleared out some nasty tree roots.
6. Cleaned and disinfected everything afterward with bleach solution.
I feel like I handled it okay-ish, but honestly, it was chaos at first. Wondering if anyone else has dealt with this nightmare and maybe has a smarter or quicker way of handling things? Or maybe something important I missed?
You did pretty well considering the circumstances, but one thing I'd suggest is maybe renting a sewer auger yourself next time instead of immediately calling a plumber. I've done it myself a couple of times (tree roots are the WORST), and it's honestly not that hard—plus it'll save you some serious cash. Just wear gloves and old clothes...trust me on that one.