Common Causes of Sewer Backups

Everything in a building drains into one line. When that line loses capacity, wastewater returns through the lowest opening — usually a basement floor drain, laundry standpipe or ground-floor fixture.

Roots at joints

Roots follow moisture and enter older lines at joints and hairline cracks, then thicken inside the pipe and catch solids. It is one of the most common reasons a line blocks repeatedly in the same place.

Pipe defects and lost slope

Ground movement can offset joints or create a sag that holds water. Solids settle in that low point, and capacity drops from there.

What goes down the drain

Wipes, hygiene products and accumulated grease rarely cause a backup on a sound line, but they will find and build on any existing defect.

Why inspection matters

A camera inspection separates a line that needs clearing from a line that needs repair. Without it, both cases get the same treatment and only one of them stays fixed.