Sewage cleanup in Queens: when the basement drain backs up

Queens Water Damage Restoration is an independent referral service, not a restoration company. When you send the form, your details go to an independent local restoration provider serving Queens, who can contact you, inspect and quote any work directly. You decide whether to hire them.

Why Queens basements back up

NYC’s Department of Environmental Protection describes sewer backups as what happens when heavy rain exceeds the capacity of the pipes, causing overflows from manholes, catch basins and basement sewer connections. The sewers have a limit: during Hurricane Ida, the NYC Health Department reports, rain fell at up to 3.5 inches an hour in some areas against a sewer capacity of 1.75 inches an hour. When the sewer under the street is full, the lowest openings connected to it, often a basement floor drain, are where the water comes out.

DEP also points to a cause within each homeowner’s control. Downspouts connected to the sanitary sewer can overwhelm it with rainwater and cause sewer backups in basements, and DEP says disconnecting them is mandatory for homeowners.

Sewage is Category 3 water

The ANSI/IICRC S500 lists sewage first among its examples of Category 3 water, along with wasteline backflows that originate from beyond any trap regardless of visible content or color. It defines Category 3 as grossly contaminated water that can contain pathogenic, toxigenic or other harmful agents and can cause significant adverse reactions if contacted or consumed. In other words: even if the water looks clear, if it came from beyond the trap, treat it as sewage.

The EPA’s advice for water damage caused by sewage or other contaminated water is to call in a professional who has experience cleaning and fixing buildings damaged by contaminated water.

Staying safe

• Keep out of the water, and keep children and pets away from it.
• Do not touch switches, outlets or tools while standing in water. Switch the main power off only from a dry place.
• If you smell gas, the CDC says to turn off the main gas valve, open the windows and leave at once; report it from outside.
• Stop using water in the house: every flush, shower and load of laundry adds to what is in the basement.
• Do not run the heating or cooling system if you suspect it is contaminated with mold, as the EPA advises.
• Do not mix cleaning products, and do not add bleach to other chemicals. The EPA also says bleach is not recommended as a routine practice in mold cleanup.

How sewage cleanup works

1. Inspect and document. Where the water came from, how high it reached and what it touched, photographed before anything moves.
2. Contain. The S500 says that for Category 2 or 3 water, remediation should happen before restorative drying, with contamination controls such as containment barriers and pressure differentials, and appropriate worker protection.
3. Remove the water. Pump-out and extraction of the sewage itself.
4. Remove what cannot be cleaned. The CDC says to remove and discard drywall and insulation contaminated with sewage, and to throw away what cannot be cleaned or dried quickly, such as carpeting, carpet padding, mattresses and upholstered furniture.
5. Clean. Hard surfaces are cleaned before drying starts.
6. Dry and check. Air movers and dehumidifiers until moisture readings are normal, then a check for mold before the rebuild.

The S500 also notes that time and temperature can affect the contamination of water. A backup left for days can get worse than one dealt with at once.

Insurance, in general

FloodSmart says that under flood insurance, damage caused by a sewer backup is covered if the backup is a direct result of flooding. Backups that are not part of a flood are a separate question for your own policy. Photograph everything before it is discarded, keep a list, and check your own policy or ask your agent.

Making the next one less likely

Disconnect any downspouts from the sewer, as DEP requires, and ask a plumber or engineer about a backwater valve, which FloodHelpNY describes in gate, ball and flapper types. The basement waterproofing page covers both. If the backup came with street or surge flooding, see flood cleanup in Queens, and for the repairs once it is clean, water damage repair.

Questions people ask