Sewer Backup Cleanup in Massachusetts

Sewer backups in Massachusetts tend to arrive in two ways. The first is weather: a hard rain over an older city with combined sewers, or a long soaking storm that overwhelms a separate system, can push water back up through basement drains in many houses at once, as happened across the state during the record March of 2010. The second is a blockage in the house lateral itself, from tree roots, grease, wipes or an old line that has sagged or cracked. Either way the water is category 3 from the first minute, and older basements with drains set low in the slab take it first.

In the first hour sewage spreads across the floor, soaks carpet and pad, and wicks into the bottom of drywall, paneling and cardboard boxes. By 24 hours the smell has moved upstairs through the floor framing and ducts, and stored items sitting in it are usually beyond saving. Between 24 and 48 hours the wet basement becomes a place where mold can start on drywall paper and wood. After a week, wall cavities, the bottom plates of finished walls and the framing under the stairs carry contamination and odor, and the cleanup is much larger.

Sewage limits what can be saved, but not everything has to go. Bare concrete slabs and poured or block foundation walls are cleaned, sanitized and dried in place, since they do not hold contamination the way soft materials do. Solid wood framing, stair stringers and the bottoms of wall studs can usually stay after cleaning and antimicrobial treatment, as long as they dry to normal readings. Metal shelving, plastic bins, appliances with sealed housings and glass or ceramic items are washed and disinfected. In older basements with fieldstone or rough block walls, crews pay extra attention to the joints and pockets where sewage residue collects.

Carpet and pad touched by sewage are removed, because the pad soaks it up and cannot be cleaned through. Drywall, paneling and insulation are flood cut well above the highest wet line, since gypsum and paper wick contaminated water upward inside the wall. Upholstered furniture, mattresses, cardboard boxes, books and papers stored on the floor are usually discarded. Laminate and engineered flooring generally come up as well, and wood subfloor under a basement bathroom may need to be replaced if it soaked for long.

Sewer backups can happen anywhere in Massachusetts, but the setting changes the job. In Greater Boston, Boston and Somerville have some of the oldest housing in the state, with median years built of 1947 and 1938, and both are documented combined sewer communities, so a hard rain over the city can strain an old system. Many basements there are shared by several households in triple-deckers and multifamily houses. In Central Massachusetts, Worcester has a median year built of 1951 and many triple-deckers, and it is also a combined sewer city, so one backup in a shared basement can reach the storage and laundry of three units.

On the SouthCoast, New Bedford and Fall River are both combined sewer cities rich in triple-deckers and mill-era housing, where one backup can affect every family in the building. In Western Massachusetts, Springfield and Holyoke are combined sewer communities too, and Holyoke has a median year built of 1950. When you call, tell the person on the line your town, where the water is coming up and whether neighbors have it too, and we connect you with a local crew that handles sewage cleanup in your area.