Sewage backup and water damage in your home is a health hazard and something no homeowner should experience if problems with your septic system can be avoided. As a homeowner, the possibility that you may experience a public sewer line backup into your home or a septic backup, for those on a private system, is a real threat. While we all hope and expect that our sewage systems are working properly, the fateful day when your home is damaged from solid waste and water is the moment you wish you had considered preventative measures.

If you're one of the 60 million Americans with a septic tank, you probably love it for being economical, low-maintenance and Eco-friendly. What you probably don't love, though, is when it backs up. It's a smelly, potentially illness-inducing problem that will make you want to live in a hotel until it's cleaned up. Avoid that hassle by identifying the five most common signs of a septic tank backup.

Sewer backups are unfortunately a disaster if your waste system is not properly maintained. Know what you flush into the toilet; be wary of kids’ small toys that accidentally fall into a toilet or sink. Pouring grease into your drain may solidify later and cause a backup

When a private septic system fails, the area around the septic tank/field may become soaking wet. This is an indication that your system may back up into the house. In a public system, the waste line becomes sluggish and does not drain properly

A backwater valve and a Blackwater Alert are entirely different. The backwater flow preventer valve is located inside your sewer line. If it was not installed when the plumbing was installed, significant costs may be involved in retrofitting a preventer into your waste line (~$1,000).