Sewage Backing Up in the Tub or Shower: What to Do in Fort Worth

Stop using water now, everywhere in the house

Every drain feeds the same main line, so while it's plugged, water poured down any drain comes back out of the tub. One flush can push sewage over the rim.

• Tell everyone at home not to flush, shower or run a faucet.
• Stop a running washer or dishwasher mid-cycle.
• Skip drain chemicals. They won't reach a main-line clog and can burn whoever works in that tub.
• Don't plunge the tub. It sloshes sewage around and rarely moves the blockage.

Why the lowest drain overflows first

Drains run on gravity. Toilets, sinks, the tub and the washer all slope into one building drain that leaves the house for the city sewer. When that pipe is plugged, wastewater stacks up behind the clog until it reaches the lowest opening: usually the tub or shower, which sits at floor level below any toilet rim or sink. Signs the main line is the problem:

• Water rises in the tub when a toilet flushes or the washer empties
• Toilets gurgle while water drains elsewhere
• Several drains are slow at once

One slow tub with soapy water is usually hair in its own trap, a job for drain cleaning. Sewage coming up through a toilet? See toilet overflowing.

Main line clog or city sewer problem?

The City of Fort Worth describes the sewer lateral, the pipe from your house to the public main, as privately owned and maintained; the city looks after the mains in rights of way and easements. The city's sewer FAQ points to a simple check:

1. Turn off every water outlet and watch the tub for a few minutes.
2. If the overflow stops, the trouble is likely in your private lateral: a plumber's job.
3. If sewage keeps rising while nobody uses water, the city main may be the cause. Ask whether neighbors have the same problem, and report it to the Fort Worth Water Department's 24-hour emergency line.

If our camera shows the clog is past the end of your line, we'll tell you so you can report it.

The cleanout

A cleanout is a capped pipe that opens straight into the sewer line, usually outside near the foundation or in the yard. Many older houses have none. Know where yours is, but leave the cap on: a full line can push sewage out the moment it's loosened. Our plumber uses it to:

• Locate the clog. Sewage standing in the cleanout means the blockage is farther toward the street; a dry one means it's between there and the house.
• Clear the line with a main-sewer cable machine that cuts through roots, wipes or grease.

Without a cleanout, the cable goes in through a pulled toilet, and we can add a cleanout afterward to make future clearing simpler.

Clay pipe, cast iron and roots in older homes

Sylvania Avenue, the street our address is on, is one boundary of the Oakhurst Historic District, a neighborhood of Craftsman bungalows and revival-style houses listed on the National Register in 2010. Riverside, Six Points, the Northside and Fairmount also have many older houses, and older houses often have clay or cast-iron sewer pipe:

• Clay tile comes in short lengths, so a yard line has many joints. Roots find any joint that seeps and grow into a mat that snags paper.
• Cast iron, common under pier-and-beam floors, rusts inside into rough scale and can crack along the bottom.

Newer plastic lines clog too, mostly from wipes and grease. Texas environmental regulators note that grease poured down drains builds up in sewer pipes and can back wastewater into homes. Before a big holiday meal, read our kitchen sink and disposal tips for where the fat should go instead.

Camera inspection

Clearing ends the backup but doesn't explain it. A video camera inspection through the cleanout shows roots, cracks, a sagging section or just a lodged wipe, and you can see the footage for yourself. Roots or broken pipe mean the backup will return, and the footage pinpoints where a sewer line repair would go.

Safety and cleanup basics

Treat everything sewage touched as contaminated. Following CDC cleanup guidance:

• Wear rubber boots, rubber gloves and goggles.
• If water reached outlets or cords, shut off power at the main breaker if you can reach the panel without standing in water; otherwise have an electrician shut it off.
• Throw out sewage-soaked rugs and anything else you can't clean or dry quickly; drywall and insulation that sewage reached should come out.
• Clean hard surfaces with hot water and detergent, then disinfect. Never mix bleach with ammonia or any other cleaner.

Photograph the damage first for your records. If sewage soaked carpet or spread beyond the bathroom, call a water damage restoration company.

Sewage backup questions

Sewage in the tub? Call now

Call (817) 755-5621 at any hour. Our on-call plumber clears the line and explains your options before any repair. Plumber 24 Fort Worth works under Texas plumbing license # M-27587 across Fort Worth, from Riverside, Oakhurst and Six Points to our service areas. Non-urgent follow-up work is booked at a time that suits you.

Coupons: new customers get $50 off; seniors, military members and first responders get 10% off; and the dispatch fee is $0 when we make a repair.