Keep out of the affected area
- Keep children and pets away from the area entirely.
- Do not run fans in the space. Moving air spreads contamination through the house.
- Do not attempt to extract it with household equipment.
- Avoid using drains and fixtures on that line until the cause is identified.
- Photograph the extent before anything is moved.
Why sewage is a different job
With clean water, the problem is moisture and the goal is to get materials back to normal. With sewage, moisture is the secondary issue. The water carries bacteria and organic material that soak into porous surfaces and stay there after the water is gone. Extracting and drying a carpet that has been through a sewage backup returns it to normal moisture while leaving the contamination in place.
That single fact drives the whole approach. Rather than asking what can be dried, the work asks what can be cleaned all the way through. Material that can only be cleaned on the surface comes out.
How the work proceeds
The area is contained before anything is removed. Openings to the rest of the house are sheeted off and the work zone is put under negative pressure, so air flows into it and is filtered on the way out rather than carrying contamination into clean parts of the home. Skipping this step means the removal itself distributes the problem.
Affected porous material is then removed and bagged. That typically means carpet and padding, the lower band of drywall, wet insulation, particleboard, and laminate or engineered flooring. Non-porous material such as concrete, tile, sealed hardwood and structural framing can usually be cleaned and kept, since contamination stays on the surface where it can be reached.
Cleaning follows removal, and only after cleaning does the structure get dried in the ordinary way, with air movers and dehumidification under moisture readings. Drying before cleaning would set contamination into the materials being dried.
Where these losses come from in Utah County
Aging laterals in the historic grids
Clay sewer laterals installed decades ago run from older houses in Provo, American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Springville and Payson to the main. Joints settle, roots enter, and the line restricts until it backs up into the drain nearest the basement floor, which is nearly always in the basement.
Main line surcharge during heavy runoff
During a heavy melt or a severe storm, flow in the municipal system rises. Where a property sits low relative to the main, that can push back up the lateral rather than draining away.
Septic systems on the county fringe
Properties outside the sewered areas rely on septic. A saturated drain field in a wet spring cannot accept flow, and the system backs up toward the house.
Sewage cleanup by city
- ProvoZIP 84601, 84604, 84606
- OremZIP 84057, 84058, 84097
- LehiZIP 84043
- Eagle MountainZIP 84005
- Saratoga SpringsZIP 84045
- Spanish ForkZIP 84660
- Pleasant GroveZIP 84062
- SpringvilleZIP 84663
- American ForkZIP 84003
- PaysonZIP 84651
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why can sewage water not simply be extracted and dried?
- Because the concern is contamination rather than moisture. Water from a sewer backup carries bacteria and organic material that remain in porous surfaces after the water itself is gone. Drying a saturated carpet returns it to normal moisture but does nothing about what soaked into it, which is why porous material affected by sewage is removed rather than dried.
- What has to be removed after a sewage backup?
- Generally carpet and padding, the lower band of drywall, wet insulation, particleboard and any laminate or engineered flooring the water reached. Non-porous surfaces such as concrete, tile, sealed hardwood and framing can usually be cleaned and kept. The dividing line is whether the material can be cleaned all the way through or only on the surface.
- Is a backup from a clean toilet treated the same way?
- Water from a toilet overflow that has not passed the trap is a lesser category and is handled less aggressively. Once water has come back up from the lateral or the main, or has passed through the trap, it is treated as contaminated regardless of how it looks or smells. Describe what actually happened when you call, since the two get very different responses.
- How is the rest of the house kept clean during the work?
- The affected area is contained before removal starts, usually with sheeting over openings and negative air pressure inside the work zone so air flows into it rather than out into the rest of the home. Material comes out bagged. Without containment, the removal itself distributes contamination through the house.
- Why are sewer backups common in older Utah County neighborhoods?
- The laterals running from older houses to the main have been in the ground for decades. Clay pipe joints settle and open, and tree roots find them, which restricts the line until it backs up. The historic grids in Provo, American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Springville and Payson have a concentration of lines of this age.