Pipe burst? Water everywhere? We're already on our way.

A sewage backup requires immediate attention. Wastewater can contain bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants, and continuing to use your plumbing may cause more sewage to enter the home.

What to Do Right Away

1. Stop Using Water Throughout the Home
Do not flush toilets, run faucets, take showers, use the washing machine, or run the dishwasher. Additional wastewater can make the backup worse.

2. Keep People and Pets Away
Prevent children, pets, and other household members from entering areas contaminated by sewage. Avoid direct contact with wastewater.

3. Watch for Electrical Hazards
If sewage or standing water is near outlets, appliances, wiring, or electrical equipment, stay out of the area. Do not enter standing water to reach an electrical panel.

4. Determine How Many Fixtures Are Affected
A single clogged fixture may indicate a localized drain problem. Sewage backing up through multiple toilets, tubs, showers, or floor drains can indicate a blockage or problem farther down the drainage or sewer system.

5. Call a Plumber
A professional plumber can determine whether the problem involves a clogged drain, main sewer blockage, damaged sewer pipe, tree-root intrusion, or another drainage issue.

6. Address Contaminated Areas Properly
Significant sewage contamination may require professional cleanup and sanitization in addition to plumbing repairs. Porous materials exposed to wastewater may need special handling or replacement.

Signs of a Main Sewer Problem

• Multiple drains backing up at the same time

• Sewage coming through a tub, shower, or floor drain

• Toilets gurgling when other fixtures are used

• Strong sewer odors inside or outside the home

• Recurring drain clogs throughout the house

• Wastewater appearing at the lowest plumbing fixtures

• Unusually wet or sunken areas over the sewer line

Do Not Do This

• Do not continue flushing toilets or running water to see whether the problem clears.

• Do not allow children or pets into contaminated areas.

• Do not use chemical drain cleaners in a sewage backup.

• Do not enter standing wastewater when electrical hazards may be present.

• Do not attempt to clean significant sewage contamination without appropriate protection.

• Do not assume that clearing one fixture has solved a recurring whole-house sewer problem.

Sewage Actively Backing Into Your Home?

Stop using the plumbing system and keep everyone away from the contaminated area. A recurring or whole-house backup should be professionally diagnosed to identify the underlying cause.

Dealing with a sewage backup?
Contact Thor’s Plumbing Solutions for professional drain and sewer service in Durham, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and surrounding areas.

A slow or clogged drain may be limited to one fixture, but when several drains are affected at the same time, the problem could be farther down the plumbing system or in the main sewer line. Knowing the difference can help you avoid making the problem worse.

What to Do Right Away

1. Stop Using the Affected Fixture
If a sink, tub, shower, or toilet is backing up, stop running water through it. Continuing to use the fixture can cause an overflow.

2. Check Other Drains in the Home
Test other fixtures carefully. If only one drain is slow or clogged, the blockage may be localized.

If several toilets, sinks, tubs, or showers are draining slowly or backing up at the same time, stop using water throughout the home. This can be a sign of a main drain or sewer line problem.

3. Look at the Lowest Fixtures
Main-line problems often appear first at lower fixtures such as a first-floor shower, bathtub, basement drain, or floor drain. Water or wastewater appearing there when another fixture is used is an important warning sign.

4. Listen for Gurgling
Gurgling toilets or drains can occur when air is being displaced by a blockage in the drainage system. Pay particular attention if a toilet bubbles when a sink, shower, or washing machine drains.

5. Try a Plunger for a Simple, Single-Fixture Clog
For an isolated sink or toilet clog, a plunger may clear a minor blockage. Stop if repeated plunging does not improve the problem or causes another fixture to back up.

6. Call a Plumber for Recurring or Multiple-Drain Problems
A professional plumber can determine whether the problem involves a fixture trap, branch drain, main drain, sewer line blockage, tree roots, damaged pipe, or another drainage problem.

Signs It May Be a Main Line Problem

• Multiple drains are slow at the same time

• More than one toilet is backing up

• A toilet bubbles or gurgles when another fixture drains

• Water backs up into a tub or shower when a toilet is flushed

• Water appears in a floor drain when the washing machine runs

• Clogs repeatedly return after being cleared

• Strong sewer odors are coming from drains

• Wastewater is backing up into the home

Do Not Do This

• Do not keep running water to see if a major blockage will clear itself.

• Do not repeatedly flush a toilet that is not draining.

• Do not use multiple chemical drain cleaners or mix drain-cleaning products.

• Do not continue using washing machines or dishwashers if multiple drains are backing up.

• Do not assume a recurring clog is fixed just because the water eventually drains.

• Do not attempt to open or remove a sewer cleanout cap when the line may be under pressure—wastewater can discharge unexpectedly.

One Clogged Drain or Several?

One affected fixture often points to a localized clog.

Multiple affected fixtures—especially toilets, tubs, showers, or floor drains—can indicate a deeper drain or main sewer line problem and should be professionally diagnosed.

Dealing with a clogged drain or suspected main-line blockage?
Contact Thor’s Plumbing Solutions for professional drain and sewer service in Durham, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and surrounding areas.

If you smell natural gas or suspect a gas leak, treat it as an emergency. Natural gas is highly flammable, and even a small spark can ignite accumulated gas. Your first priority is getting everyone safely away from the property.

What to Do Right Away

1. Leave the Building Immediately
Get everyone—including children and pets—out of the home or building. Move to a safe location away from the property.

2. Avoid Anything That Could Create a Spark
As you leave, do not turn lights, appliances, or electrical devices on or off. Even operating a switch can potentially create a spark.

3. Do Not Use Your Phone Inside the Building
Wait until you are outside and a safe distance from the suspected leak before making a call.

4. Do Not Try to Find the Leak Yourself
Do not search for the source with a flame, lighter, match, electrical equipment, or other device. Leave gas-line diagnosis to qualified professionals.

5. Call the Gas Utility or 911 From a Safe Location
Once everyone is safely outside, contact your gas utility’s emergency line. If the odor is strong, you hear gas escaping, anyone feels ill, or you believe there is immediate danger, call 911.

6. Do Not Re-Enter the Property
Stay outside until the gas utility, fire department, or other qualified emergency personnel tell you it is safe to return.

Possible Signs of a Gas Leak

• A rotten-egg or sulfur-like odor

• A hissing or whistling sound near a gas line or appliance

• Dead or discolored vegetation near an underground gas line

• Bubbles appearing in standing water over a buried gas line

• Unexplained damage around a gas connection

• A gas appliance that suddenly stops operating correctly

Do Not Do This

• Do not light matches, candles, cigarettes, or open flames.

• Do not turn electrical switches on or off.

• Do not unplug appliances or electrical devices.

• Do not start a vehicle in or immediately next to the affected area.

• Do not use a phone while still inside the building.

• Do not attempt to locate or repair the gas leak yourself.

• Do not return inside to retrieve belongings.

• Do not turn the gas supply back on yourself after it has been shut off.

Smell Gas Right Now?

Leave the property immediately. From a safe location, contact your gas utility’s emergency line or call 911 when there is immediate danger. Do not remain inside while trying to schedule a plumbing appointment.

After the property has been declared safe, Thor’s Plumbing Solutions can help with professional gas line inspection, repair, or installation in Durham, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and surrounding areas.