Do this right away
- Stop running water anywhere in the house. No flushing, showers, laundry or dishwasher.
- Keep kids and pets out of the area.
- Do not try to clean raw sewage with household cleaners and a mop. It carries bacteria and viruses that soak into porous materials.
- If you are on a septic system, stop using water and call a septic service as well.
What a sewage cleanup involves
Restoration crews treat sewage as a category 3, or black water, loss. The work usually includes:
- Removing standing sewage and solids.
- Tearing out porous materials it touched, such as carpet, pad, drywall and insulation.
- Cleaning and disinfecting hard surfaces, framing and subfloor.
- Drying the area, then testing or treating to confirm it is clean.
A plumber or sewer contractor clears the blockage. The restoration company handles the cleanup.
Before you dial, have these ready
- Where the water started, if you can tell: a supply line, the water heater, a toilet, a dishwasher, the creek, or rain getting in.
- Whether it is clean water, gray water from an appliance, or sewage.
- Which rooms and floors got wet, and about how long ago it started.
- Whether the water and the power to the wet rooms are off.
- Your neighborhood or nearest cross street, so the call goes to a crew that works your part of town.
Plan on a couple of minutes on the phone. That is usually enough to reach a local company and get a time for someone to come out.
The call is free. You don't have to hire anyone.
Sewage backups in Issaquah homes
Most sewer backups start with a blockage in the line between the house and the street: roots, grease, wipes, or a sagging section of old pipe. When it clogs, the lowest drain in the house overflows first, which in Issaquah is often a basement floor drain, a lower-level bathroom or a garage drain.
Older homes near downtown and along the valley floor are more likely to have original sewer laterals with roots growing into the joints. Newer homes in the Highlands and Talus have plastic lines, but flushable wipes and grease cause clogs there too.
Some homes south of the city limits and in the hills around Mirrormont and the Issaquah-Hobart Road corridor run on septic systems. A failed drain field or full tank can push sewage back into the house, especially when the ground is saturated in winter.
Ask your insurance agent whether you have a water backup endorsement. It is an add-on to most Washington policies, and without it many sewer backups are not covered.