Remediate RenovationBay Area and Dallas–Fort Worth · 24/7, a person answers
(281) 671-7777
Don't Wait—Call Remediate.
Sewage cleanup and category 3 water
Remediate Renovation cleans up sewage backups and category 3 water in the San Francisco Bay Area and Dallas–Fort Worth; call any time, a person answers 24/7. A toilet, floor drain or sewer line has backed up into the house. That water is not like a clean pipe leak, and it is not handled like one. We remove what it soaked, clean what can be cleaned, dry the structure, document it for your claim and rebuild.
- A person answers 24/7
- Insured
- Cleanup to rebuild, one company
- Free consultation and quote
What you are dealing with
What is category 3 water?
The water restoration industry's standard, the S500 standard for professional water damage restoration, sorts water damage into three categories by how contaminated the water is. Category 3 is the worst of the three: grossly contaminated water such as sewage, a toilet backflow from beyond the trap, or rising flood water. A sewage backup starts out as category 3 the moment it comes up a drain.
Why it is treated differently from a clean leak
A supply line that bursts sends out clean water, and much of what it wets can often be dried in place. Sewage carries what the drain carries. The EPA warns that contaminated flood water can hold bacteria, chemicals and other hazards, so the goal is not only dry but clean.
Time works against you
The same EPA page says mold can grow on wood, drywall, carpet and furniture that stay wet for more than 24 hours. With sewage, every hour of standing water also spreads the contamination further into floors and the bottom of walls.
Clean water can become category 3
Water does not stay in its first category. A clean leak that sits, or that runs through dirty spaces like a crawl space, can get worse. When we arrive we look at where the water came from and where it travelled, not only at what it looks like now.
What you can do now
Stop using the sinks, toilets, shower and washing machine on that drain line so no more water goes down it. Keep children and pets out of the affected rooms. Then call (281) 671-7777; a person answers 24/7.
Removed or dried
What comes out, and what can stay
The EPA's advice for contaminated water is to sort what was wet: materials that do not soak up water can usually be cleaned and dried, and materials that soak up a lot of water and cannot be cleaned should be thrown away. On a sewage job that line decides most of the scope.
Carpet and pad
Soaked carpet and pad hold sewage deep in their fibers. They come out and are replaced with new.
Drywall and insulation
Wet drywall is cut out above the water line, along with any insulation behind it.
Baseboards and trim
Pulled so the wall cavity behind them can be reached, cleaned and dried.
Hard surfaces
Tile, sealed concrete, metal and other surfaces that do not absorb water are cleaned and kept where they are sound.
Framing and subfloor
Cleaned and dried, then read with a moisture meter. What does not dry or cannot be cleaned is replaced.
Your belongings
Contents pack-out moves what can be saved out of the work area; what the water ruined is listed for the claim before it goes.
How a sewage job runs
From the backup to a clean, dry room
Look and photograph
Where the water came up, how far it went, and photos of every affected room before anything is moved.
Seal off and extract
The work area is closed off from the rest of the house, and the standing sewage is pumped and extracted.
Tear out
Porous materials the sewage soaked are cut out, bagged and taken away.
Clean and dry
What stays is cleaned, then dried with air movers and dehumidifiers until the moisture readings say it is dry.
Your household
Keeping your family safe during the cleanup
Sewage cleanup is not a weekend project. The EPA says children and pregnant people should not take part in this kind of cleanup, and people with breathing problems such as asthma or a weakened immune system should stay away from it.
The rooms we are working in
They are off limits until the cleanup and drying are done. The containment keeps the work area apart from the rooms you are still using.
Water and drains
Until the cause is found and fixed, the drains on the backed-up line stay unused, so the water does not come back up while we work.
Staying or leaving
Whether you can stay in the rest of the house depends on how far the water went and which rooms it reached. We tell you what we found, and you decide.
The claim
The documentation for your insurance claim
We are the repair contractor, not the adjuster. On a sewage loss we document the damage from the first visit: photos, moisture readings and measurements, then an itemized estimate in the industry's standard estimating format.
What the adjuster gets from us
Our photos, readings and line-item estimate, and answers to their questions about our scope of work.
What stays between you and your insurer
Whether your policy covers a sewage backup, the claim itself and the settlement. Read your policy or ask your agent about backup coverage.
What you pay
For the covered repair you pay only your deductible; your insurer pays us the rest directly. Upgrades you choose are priced separately.
After the cleanup
Putting the rooms back
Everything cut out in the cleanup has to go back in: drywall, insulation, baseboards, flooring and paint. We do the rebuild too, so the same company that took the room apart puts it back together, and there is no wait between a cleanup crew and a separate contractor. If the backup sat long enough for mold to start, that work is added and we tell you first; everything the mold touched is replaced with new material, never cleaned and reused.
Related water and rebuild services
- Water damage mitigationClean water from a leak or a burst pipe.
- Water damage restorationThe whole water job, drying to finished room.
- Mold remediationWhen the backup was found late.
- Rebuild after damageNew drywall, floors and trim after the tear-out.
- Working with insuranceWhat we send your adjuster, and what we never do.
Where we clean up sewage backups
We take sewage and category 3 water jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Dallas–Fort Worth. See the cities we have worked in.
Questions
Sewage cleanup questions
Is a sewage backup always category 3 water?
Yes. The S500 water damage standard puts sewage in category 3, the most contaminated of its three water categories, together with toilet backflow from beyond the trap and rising flood water. We treat any backup from a drain or sewer line that way from the first visit.
Can carpet or drywall that sewage touched be cleaned and kept?
Usually not. Carpet, pad, drywall and insulation soak the water up and cannot be cleaned through, so they are cut out and replaced with new in the rebuild. Hard surfaces such as tile, sealed concrete and metal are cleaned and kept where they are sound.
Should I start cleaning up the sewage myself before you arrive?
No. Stop using the drains on that line, keep children and pets out of the rooms, and call us. The EPA says children and pregnant people should not take part in this kind of cleanup, and people with asthma or a weakened immune system should stay away from it.
Is it safe to stay in the house during sewage cleanup?
The rooms we are working in are closed off and off limits until they are clean and dry. Whether you stay in the rest of the house depends on how far the water went; we tell you what we found, and you decide.
What do you document for the insurance claim on a sewage backup?
Photos of every affected room before anything is moved, moisture readings and measurements, a list of what had to be thrown away, and an itemized estimate in the industry's standard estimating format. We send it to the adjuster and answer their questions about our scope; coverage and the settlement stay between you and your insurer.
Don't Wait—Call Remediate.
Tell us where the backup is
Which drain it came up from and which rooms it reached. We call you back, or call us now.
Call (281) 671-7777