Homeownership is usually a wonderful thing. Yet, there are times when it tries the patience of even the calmest person. One problem that would get anyone’s blood boiling is a clogged sewer line. Not only are these problems gross to deal with, but they can pose serious health risks if you don’t fix them quickly. Fortunately, there are some things you can watch out for to catch this problem before it gets any worse. Here, we’ll show you how to tell when your sewer line is backed up so you can deal with it as soon as possible.

Water Backflows Into Your Shower or Tub

Water that goes down any drain should never come back into your house. If you start to notice that water bubbles up into your shower or tub whenever you turn off the faucet or flush the toilet, you definitely have a sewer line clog on your hands. This is a seriously unsanitary problem, so don’t ignore this sign that your plumbing is in trouble.

Your Toilet or Drains Make Gurgling Noises

Have you ever shut off the faucet in your bathroom, and your toilet started making gurgling noises? It could mean your sewer line has a serious clog. Audible sounds occur when trapped air from a clog makes its way back up through your drains. This is a very unpleasant problem to deal with, and it could even release harmful fumes into your home that you don’t want to breathe in. When your toilet starts gurgling, call a professional right away.

Multiple Drains Are Backed up at the Same Time

A clear way to know when your sewer line is backed up is seeing that multiple drains in your home don’t seem to work very well. If just one drain acts odd, the clog could be in a nearby pipe. But when all of your drains don’t function well, you know that the problem exists deeper in your plumbing system. You won’t be able to fix a deep sewer line clog on your own, so make sure you hire some professional help.

Drain Clearing Hasn’t Fixed the Issue

Sometimes things become trapped in our pipes, and we can remove them ourselves. That’s what drain clearing fluid is for, as well as drain snakes. However, if you’ve already tried these methods to no avail, you can be pretty sure that the problem lies further down in your piping. Don’t keep trying to clear a drain if it doesn’t work the first time, as you could do more damage to the pipes. As with the other occurrences that we’ve discussed, it’s wiser to call in an expert instead.