Why Does My Shower Back Up When I Flush The Toilet?
Sometimes you get a back up when you flush the toilet because there is a clog in the main line or the branch line having to do with both that toilet and the nearest shower.
Main Lines are the sewer pipes that take all the waste from your entire homes plumbing to the city sewer or septic system.
Branch line is the sewer pipe that connects one plumbing fixtures sewer line to another on its way to the main sewer line. It has this name because some sewer piping under homes looks like a tree.
You know it is the main line if you go to another bathroom and turn the water on and see that the shower once again has a back up.
You know its the branch line if you turn water on elsewhere in the house and the backup does not occur. When you've narrowed the problem down to the branch line it could be the fixture itself with a backup or it could be anywhere in the branch line between the fixture and the place where this line connects to the main line.
What is a clog?
A clog is a shoe with a wooden sole. For more info on that go here: https://didyouknowfashion.com/the-evolution-of-the-wooden-clog/
But, seriously, a clog is officially an encumbrance or impediment. In the plumbing world a clog is a mass of waste/debris built up hindering the water and sewage from traveling down to the city sewer pipes, also called a backup.
What causes a shower back up?
A clog can be caused by many things from something other than human waste going down the drain to something being wrong with the sewer drain lines themselves- for more detailed information on what could be causing the clog visit our sewer backup page.
What can be done to fix the shower back up?
The smallest fix would be cabling the sewer line from the shower drain line if possible to clear any debris that is causing the back up. After cabling the line we recommend putting a sewer camera down the line to ensure the problem is gone for good. Worst case scenario would be something wrong with the sewer line itself. To learn more about our camera inspection services please click here.
