The plumbing lines and waste drainage pipes in your home are an essential part of keeping your home in good condition and healthy. Indoor plumbing is a great invention, but you want to make sure you handle its maintenance properly and have it repaired when it shows signs of problems. Here are some tips to help you when you have toilet backup and blockage issues in your home.

Pump and Check Your Septic Tank

There may be several causes to a backed up toilet or a slow flowing drain in your home and depending on the type of sewage system your home is connected to you need to handle it properly. If your home is connected to its own septic system buried within your property, the cause of the backups may be from a too-full tank or a clog somewhere in the tank's drainage line. You may also have a clog between your home and the tank that is preventing sewage from exiting from your home.

After you have done your best to clear the clog from the toilet's line, contact your septic professional, as they can determine where the blockage is situated. They will start off with servicing the tank and pumping it if it is full. By pumping the tank clear, they will also be able to get a good look at the drain lines coming into and out of the tank.

Inspect the Plumbing Lines

If your home is on city sewer, the blockage may be within the plumbing line within your home or also in the line spanning from your home's plumbing lines and the city sewer under the street. This length of sewer main is the main highway for your home's sewer drainage and if it becomes clogged, there is nowhere for your sewage to go and it will stop completely. Fortunately, your local plumber can inspect your home's sewer lines and the main pipe running from your home and clear it with their equipment.

Clean Up Damage

When you have repaired the sewer line within your home and restored the flow, you will need to clean up any sewer spill damage. Sewage contains microbes and other harmful bacteria that you don't want on your home's surfaces. 

A sewer clean-up professional can clean and sterilize your home's surfaces to remove the microbes and eliminate any threat of health problems. It is important you fully clean off porous surfaces, such as carpeting and drywall as well as solid surfaces as well.