Where the water comes up, and what it tells you
Waste water takes the lowest available opening. Where it appears narrows down where the blockage is before anyone puts a camera in the line.
| Where it appears | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Basement floor drain | Main line blocked past that point |
| Lowest shower or tub | Main line, no floor drain to take it first |
| One toilet only | Branch line or that fixture |
| Yard, near the cleanout | Blockage between there and the city main |
| Two fixtures on the same side | Shared branch, not the main |
Our order of work
- Relieve it. Open the line so nothing more comes into the house. Usually through the cleanout from outside.
- Clear it. Cable or jet depending on what the obstruction is and what the pipe can take.
- Camera it. Once flowing, we run the line and find why it stopped.
- Show you. You see the footage and you keep it.
- Options. What it would take to stop it happening again, with prices, so you can decide rather than be sold to.
Step three is the one some outfits skip. Clearing a backup without finding its cause means you will be calling someone again, and in our experience sooner than you expect.
What we do not do
We are a sewer company. We stop the backup, clear the line and repair the pipe. We do not do interior restoration — drying out drywall, lifting carpet, treating contaminated flooring. That is a restoration contractor's work and they are better at it than we would be.
What we can give you is the camera footage and a written account of the cause, which is usually what an insurer wants before paying a restoration claim.
Reducing the chance of the next one
- Camera the line every few years if the house is older than 1980. Problems are visible long before they stop the line.
- Install a cleanout if you do not have one, so a backup can be relieved from outside. More on cleanouts.
- Consider a backwater valve if you have a finished basement and a history of backups.
- Keep wipes out of the line. Including the ones labelled flushable. They do not break down and they catch on everything.
- Keep grease out of the drain. It cools, coats the pipe wall and narrows the bore year by year.
Water coming up in the basement?
Stop all water use and call. We can usually relieve it from the yard cleanout without coming through the house.
Call (303) 555-0147Questions we get asked
What causes a sewer backup?
In Littleton, most often tree roots at clay pipe joints, then grease and scale narrowing the line, then structural problems like a belly or a collapsed section. Wipes and non-flushable items cause a share of them too, usually by catching on a defect that was already there.
Who pays for a sewer backup, me or the city?
If the blockage is in your lateral, it is yours. If it is in the city main, it is the city's. The camera footage is what establishes which, so getting the line scoped matters beyond just fixing it.
Does insurance cover sewer backup damage?
Standard homeowners policies usually exclude the pipe itself but many cover water damage inside the house, and sewer backup coverage is commonly sold as an add-on. Check your declarations page. Camera footage and a written cause usually support the claim.
Can I clean up sewage myself?
Small spills on hard floors can be handled with care, protective gloves and proper disinfection. Anything that has soaked into carpet, drywall or subfloor is restoration work, because what you cannot see is what causes the lingering problem.
How do I stop it happening again?
Find out what caused it. A backup is the end of a process, not the start. Once the camera shows whether it is roots, grease, a belly or a failed section, the fix for that specific cause is what prevents the next one.
Stop the backup first
Clearing what has already come up matters less than stopping what is still coming. Both have to happen, and in that order.
Platte Sewer Co. — sewer line repair in Littleton, CO. Open 24 hours.