Sewage Cleanup

What to do right now

• Keep people and pets out of the affected rooms and off wet carpet
• Do not run water, flush toilets or use the washing machine or dishwasher
• Shut off power to the area at the breaker if water is near outlets
• Do not use a household shop vac — it aerosolizes contaminated water
• Photograph what you can safely reach for your claim
• Call us — Category 3 water gets worse by the hour

Why sewage is Category 3

The IICRC S500 standard sorts water losses into three categories. Category 1 is clean water from a supply line. Category 2 is greywater — a washing machine or dishwasher discharge. Category 3 is grossly contaminated: sewage, septic, toilet water past the trap and storm flooding. It carries bacteria, viruses and parasites, and clean Category 1 water degrades into Category 3 if it sits long enough.

That category drives the whole scope. Porous materials that soaked up Category 3 water cannot be cleaned and saved — they come out. Anything that stays has to be cleaned, disinfected and verified dry, not simply dried in place.

How the work runs

1. STEP 1

   Emergency response and safety setup

   We arrive around the clock, verify the source is stopped, kill power where needed and set containment so the contamination stays in the affected area.

2. STEP 2

   Category and class documented

   Sewage is Category 3 — grossly contaminated water under IICRC S500. We photograph, meter and record the category and class so the scope and the claim match the actual loss.

3. STEP 3

   Extraction and contaminated material removal

   Bulk waste and standing water extracted, then porous materials that cannot be cleaned — carpet, pad, saturated drywall, insulation and affected cabinetry — cut out and bagged for disposal.

4. STEP 4

   Clean, HEPA vacuum and disinfect

   Hard surfaces and framing are cleaned, HEPA vacuumed and treated with an EPA-registered antimicrobial, with negative air and HEPA filtration running throughout.

5. STEP 5

   Structural drying to dry standard

   Air movers and dehumidifiers run until framing and subfloor hit dry standard, with daily moisture readings logged for you and your adjuster.

6. STEP 6

   Clearance and rebuild

   Post-remediation verification, then our own reconstruction crew puts back flooring, drywall, trim and cabinetry — one company from the backup to the finished room.

What causes sewage backups here

• Main line or city sewer backup pushing waste up through floor drains and tubs
• Failed or overwhelmed septic system and drain field
• Collapsed or root-blocked cast-iron drain lines in older Hampton Roads homes
• Toilet overflow that ran while nobody was home
• Storm surge and heavy rain flooding that mixes with sanitary lines
• Sump pump or ejector pump failure in a crawl space or basement

Common questions

Does homeowners insurance cover a sewage backup?

Standard policies often exclude sewer and drain backup unless you carry a water backup endorsement, which many Virginia homeowners do. Sudden internal failures — a broken drain line inside the house — are treated differently than a city main backup. We document the source and the category so the carrier decides on facts, and we bill the carrier directly when it is covered.

Can I just clean it myself with bleach?

Not safely. Category 3 water carries pathogens, it wicks into drywall and subfloor well past what you can see, and a household shop vac aerosolizes it into the air you breathe. Materials that need to be removed will not be fixed by surface disinfecting.

What has to be thrown away?

Generally carpet and pad, saturated drywall and insulation, particleboard cabinetry and affected soft contents. Hard, non-porous surfaces, framing and most hardwood can usually be cleaned, disinfected and dried. We tell you which is which before anything leaves the house.

How fast do you get there?

We run 24/7/365 with about a 60 minute average response across Hampton Roads. Category 3 losses spread and grow bacteria quickly, so this is a same-hour call, not a next-morning one.

Will there be mold after a sewage backup?

There will be if the structure is not dried properly. We dry to documented dry standard and verify with moisture readings, and if growth has already started we remediate it to IICRC S520 under the same job.

Related: water damage restoration, mold remediation, crawl space mold removal and storm & flood damage repair.

Nearby service areas

Our crews dispatch across Hampton Roads and Central Virginia 24/7. Pick the closest city for local response times, neighborhoods and project photos.

Working a claim? Read our insurance & adjuster guide and the IICRC S500/S520/S700 mitigation standards we document every job against.