A Disaster Turns Into Peace of Mind. Chris in Plant City had every drain in the house backflow on Easter Sunday: tubs, sinks, toilets. He tells the story of the call that fixed it.
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hi my name is Chris partner I live in Plant City Florida this past Easter Sunday I had a little bit of a catastrophe the family here all of our plumbing decided not to work and when I mean it decided that'll work it started back flowing through everything the tubs sinks all the toilets it's probably one of the scariest moments I've ever had not knowing what to do you know I had a plunger but I knew that wasn't gonna solve this problem so I jumped on the internet and the first place I saw all those true plumbers and I gave him a call I was in a panic I got there any strange service and the young lady I explained to her what my situation was and she could tell by the tone of my voice said it was pretty serious within 15 minutes I got a call back from OC he's one of the guys he's uh he's definitely my lifesaver he he came over within about a half hour and did all the proper searching you know find out what the problem was with what their where their back the plaza you know quad was and he sat me down and told me that we have a big problem he said that we basically lost our been in sewer line and that means that the using rsync to doing laundry taking showers to flushing toilets would not working this house anymore they cleared the line but the line had broke you know there was nothing that they could do until we got ahold of the insurance agent and that's what we did we actually had to wait till Monday they started popping the floor up and digging away and the crack was eventually longer and longer and longer and they actually went into the entire hallway to dig up we had about two three feet of dirt throughout the whole house all in the back list you know there's no place to put it our house is 37 square feet and it was a completely time and every time touched every tile throughout the entire house so to match those tiles you know after they dug them up you know it would have been wood was impossible to do they had every top so we wouldn't selected some new tile from their showroom they had a great selection really really good selection and my wife and I were in there and literally within a couple minutes we've picked one out that we just love and that's what we ended up getting the one that came in through this door was mr. Parker everything was pleased and everything was thank you and these guys treated my home of who's their home the true plumbers was there for us and they explained it step by step I had no idea what was gonna come but you know through their expertise they actually showed me literally every step that would happen all along the way my wife and I came down here to retire two years ago and you know our dream home that not being turned upside down and it's just a scary thought and you know panic everyday you just come in you see something different you know true builders are there in that in their calm cool collective voices telling us everything's gonna be fine and you know it's one thing to say that but it's another thing to do it and they did
One fixture, or sewage in more than one room
Sewage in one toilet is often a clog in that fixture. Sewage in the tub and a floor drain at the same time is the building drain or the city main. Stop flushing either way. Another flush moves the mess onto the floor.
True Plumbers & AC clears sewer backups in Lakeland, Plant City, and Winter Haven under CFC1428965. Keep people and pets out of the water. Call (863) 667-6364 and say which fixtures are rising.
One fixture or the whole house
Run through the house before you call if you can do it without stepping in sewage. One toilet that will not go down, with every other drain normal, is a toilet clog. The tub, the shower, and a floor drain all wet at once means the line serving those rooms is full.
A basement or first-floor drain that bubbles when an upstairs toilet flushes is the same whole-house pattern. Say that on the phone. We bring a main-line cable, not a closet auger.
Stop flushing and stay out of the water
Stop using toilets, showers, the washer, and the dishwasher. Each one adds water behind the clog and pushes sewage out the lowest open drain. Shut the water to a toilet that will not stop refilling. The angle stop is on the wall behind the tank.
Do not mop sewage with household towels you plan to wash in the machine. The washer drain may be part of the backup. Keep kids and pets out of the room. Sewage carries bacteria. We clear the line first. Cleanup of soaked drywall is a different crew if the water sat.
Your line or the city main
The building drain is yours from the house to the property line. Past that, the city main is the utility. A backup that hits several houses on the block at the same hour is often the main in the street. A backup that is only your floor drain, on a dry day, is usually your line.
We open a cleanout in the yard when there is one. Flow toward the street with the house side quiet points downstream. Flow that comes back at the house points at your line. We do not dig up a city main. We tell you when to call the utility.
A sewer camera inspection
A cable can punch a hole through roots and the toilet will flush again the same night. The roots are still in the pipe. A camera after the line is open shows whether the pipe is cracked, belled, or full of roots that will close it again.
Ask for the camera when this is the second backup, or when the first one happened after a hard rain. The page for a yard that stays wet and every drain slow on a septic system is drain field. City sewer and a septic field are different endings.
Sewage in the tub or the shower
The tub and the shower sit low, so they are where a main-line backup shows up first. A toilet can look fine while the tub is holding dirty water. That is still a main-line call. Do not run the tub to "see if it goes down."
A shower that rises only when that shower is running can be a hair clog in the trap. A shower that rises when someone flushes a toilet in another room is the shared line. Drain cleaning is the service once we know it is the line and not a single trap.
Cleanup after the line is open
Clearing the pipe stops new sewage. It does not dry the floor or the wall that already got wet. If water crossed the bathroom and sat in the hall, book water damage restoration after the drain is flowing. Sewage cleanup and a cable are two appointments when the water left the bathroom.
Hard floors can be washed once the line holds. Wet drywall and wet baseboard come out. We will say which of those we saw. We do not leave a backup and call it finished because the toilet flushes.
Roots and a backup that comes back
Clay pipe and older cast iron take roots at the joints. A snake opens a hole. The joint is still open to the soil. A camera that shows roots at the same joint twice is a spot repair or a liner conversation, not a third snake with no picture.
Grease from the kitchen does the same job in a different pipe. Wipes and paper towels are the other common mass. We pull a sample when the cable brings one back so you know what to keep out of the toilet.
What to do the night it happens
Stop the water, keep off the wet floor, and call. If it is overnight and sewage is on the floor, use emergency plumbing. If one toilet is slow and the floors are dry, it can wait for a morning drain call.
Tell the dispatcher your city, whether you are on city sewer or septic, and which rooms have water. Lakeland and Plant City first. License CFC1428965. Call (863) 667-6364.
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