LUBBOCK, TX– After raw sewage displaced a Lubbock family last week, a local plumbing company explained on Monday possible causes and what to do if it happens to you.
Derrick Raybon did not know what to do when he noticed his bathtub filling with sewage, overflowing onto his floor in East Lubbock. It came from underneath the toilet, and bubbled up from the sink drain.
A “disaster,” Raybon called the property his family rented.
At first, Raybon wondered if any of his neighbors experienced what his family had.
“I was gonna try to ask my neighbor if they are experiencing [the effects of] that clog,” Raybon pondered.
The City of Lubbock came to inspect the source of the problem — discovering that the sewer line behind his house had a blockage. City workers promptly removed the clog. KLBK News was still waiting Monday to hear back for more details on what the city found.
However, the damage had already been done.
Mark Branscome, the operations manager for Lowery Plumbing, said cases like Raybon’s happen more often than one might think.
The company noted that the location of the blockage is the reason Raybon’s family faced the brunt of the mess and why his neighbors did not see any of it.
Thankfully, Raybon was home when he noticed something awry in his bathroom.
“If he had not been home for a few days, it would have gone everywhere,” Branscome stated.
Branscome told KLBK News that the only place the sewage could go was up and out of Raybon’s home, since the blockage happened just beyond the pipe that connected his sewer line to the city’s sewer line.
According to Lowery Plumbing, blockages can be caused by any number of things, including: debris build-up, tree root invasions, and chunks of grease that were poured down drains.
The company cannot say with certainty what caused this blockage, but nonetheless, the result remains the same. The home is unlivable.
Branscome stressed the importance of calling a licensed plumber if you have a plumbing problem.
“It might be cheaper to do it yourself, but it’s more dangerous too,” Branscome said. He added, “That’s why we have licenses. That’s why we have codes to follow, and laws and ordinances that we abide by.”
All safeguards designed to protect public health, he included.
If sewage enters your home, Lowery Plumbing said, call the city right away.
Raybon’s family has set up a GoFundMe page to cover the costs of being displaced and the out-of-pocket expenses they have paid for the incident, which Lowery Plumbing said can cost upwards of thousands of dollars to repair and sanitize.
