Crews put restrooms back in working order after grease blocks sewage line

HOUSTON – Several northwest Houston homeowners were relieved the restrooms in their homes were put back in working order Wednesday after they were not able to use them for 24 hours.

Local 2 was contacted by one of the homeowners who said the sewage lines in his neighborhood had backed up and started overflowing, sending raw sewage into neighborhood homes and backyards.

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"I tried to use the toilet and I went to flush it and it wasn't flushing," said homeowner Pat Schoellkopf. "This toilet always flushes, so I looked in the tank and said ‘Ew look at all this stuff in here.' It was going to overflow so I stopped trying to flush it."

Crews were out in less than 24 hours to fix the problem and found the issue was a grease plug.

Workers flushed the line to clear the clog.

Public works officials also reminded people to never dump grease, oils or fats down the drain especially when it is cold out, because they will solidify in the pipes and cause backups.

Another truck will be in the neighborhood Thursday to remove any remaining residue so this does not happen again.