Sewage backup cleanup
Leave the area and keep everyone out — sewage backup is category three water, meaning it carries bacteria, viruses, and parasites, and it is not something to clean up with a mop and bleach. Stop using every drain and fixture in the house immediately, including the washing machine, because anything you send down the line comes back up in the same place.
Show us your project
Record a short video of what's going on. A real person watches it before we call you back within 2 hours, 7am–9pm — so we arrive knowing what we're walking into.
No account, no forms to fill out first. Just your phone camera.
Do this, and nothing else
- 1
Stop running water anywhere in the house. Every flush and every load of laundry adds to what is coming back up.
- 2
Get everyone out of the affected rooms, especially children, anyone pregnant, and anyone immunocompromised.
- 3
Do not attempt to clean it. Consumer disinfectants do not make contaminated porous material safe, and the aerosol you create doing it is its own hazard.
- 4
Shut off the HVAC so the system is not moving contaminated air through the house.
- 5
Photograph from the doorway for the claim. That is close enough.
What we do when we arrive
- 1
Set up containment so the affected area is isolated from the rest of the house.
- 2
Crew works in full personal protective equipment — this is handled as a biohazard, not a spill.
- 3
Extract and dispose of contaminated water under the applicable disposal rules.
- 4
Remove and dispose of all affected porous material: carpet, pad, drywall, insulation, particle board.
- 5
Clean all remaining surfaces, then apply an antimicrobial treatment.
- 6
Dry the structure to standard with monitoring, then rebuild what was removed.
- 7
Clear the cause — because until the line is open, it will happen again.
What drives the cost
Nobody can price this honestly without seeing it, and a number quoted sight unseen is a number you pay for later. Here is what actually moves it.
- Area affected
- Contamination spreads by contact, so the scope is every surface the water touched, not just where it pooled.
- How much porous material it reached
- Carpet, drywall, insulation, and chipboard are removed and disposed of rather than cleaned. Tile and sealed concrete can often be sanitised in place.
- The cause of the backup
- A blocked branch line, a root-invaded lateral, and a collapsed main are progressively larger jobs. Root intrusion is common in older LA neighbourhoods with mature street trees.
- Whether the HVAC was running
- If it was, contamination has moved beyond the affected rooms and the duct system needs its own scope.
- Disposal and PPE
- Biohazard handling and disposal are governed by rules that a general cleanup is not, and that is reflected in the work.
- Reconstruction
- Everything removed for contamination has to be rebuilt, so the finish level of the affected rooms matters.
Insurance
Sewer and drain backup is the coverage gap most homeowners do not know they have: it is commonly excluded from standard homeowners policies and only covered if you carry a specific sewer backup endorsement. That endorsement is usually inexpensive and frequently capped, so it is worth reading the limit rather than assuming it covers the whole loss. Where the backup was caused by a municipal main failure rather than your own lateral, there may be a claim against the city, which is a separate process with its own filing deadlines — start it early.
We document the loss the way adjusters expect it — moisture readings, photographs, scope, and drying logs — and deal with your adjuster directly. General guidance only: your own policy wording decides your claim.
Common questions
Can I clean up sewage myself?
No. It is category three water carrying bacteria, viruses, and parasites, and the porous material it soaked into cannot be made safe with household disinfectant. Cleaning it yourself also aerosolises the contamination and spreads it further. Stay out of the area and let it be handled with containment and proper protective equipment.
What causes a sewage backup?
Most often a blockage in your own lateral — the line running from the house to the main. Tree roots are the leading cause in older Los Angeles neighbourhoods with mature street trees, followed by grease accumulation, flushed wipes, and pipe collapse in ageing clay lines. Occasionally the fault is in the city main rather than yours.
What has to be thrown away?
Anything porous that the water touched: carpet and pad, drywall and insulation up above the contamination line, particle board, upholstered furniture, mattresses. Hard non-porous surfaces — tile, sealed concrete, metal, solid wood in many cases — can be cleaned and sanitised.
Is it safe to stay in the house?
It depends on how far it spread and whether the HVAC was running. If contamination is confined to one area and can be sealed off, often yes. If it reached living space or moved through the duct system, we will tell you plainly that it is not, rather than working around you.
What does sewage cleanup cost?
Area, how much porous material has to go, the cause of the backup, and whether the duct system was involved all drive it. Record from the doorway — do not go in — and we will scope it from the video.
Where we work
We cover the Greater Los Angeles area within roughly 50 miles — across LA County and into Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside. If you are not sure whether you are in range, call and ask; it is a ten second answer.
Not sure how bad it is?
That is exactly what the video is for. Record what you can see, and we will tell you whether it is an emergency, something that can wait, or something you can handle yourself.
No account, no forms to fill out first. Just your phone camera.