HELP!! I HAVE A SEWAGE BACK UP IN BASEMENT

[asscherisme]

And yes, I meant to scream that. I am FREAKING right now. I went into the basement, I have not been in at least 2 days. There was a horrible smell and I went into the bathroom down there and saw TONS of grossness in the shower (think solid waste and toilet paper) in the shower!! EWWWW. So I was afraid to but walked over to where the unfinished part of the basement is and the pipes and there is solid wate, TONS of it spewed ALL over my basement and shredded toilet paper. It so far from the drain its almost like it was pushed out with some force like from water or toilet flushing. It must have been backing up for a while OR I'm wondering if it backflowed from the street? We have city sewer. But whatever it is I am SO not going ot sleep. And even worse, its all over my hot water heater and my furnace which is right by the drain hole.


I'm wondering if my 4 year old flushed something she should not have??

I can't get a plumber on the phone now since its after midnight (I tried) so would that be my first step right, a plumber?

And then would the clean up be considered hazardous material and should I hire some sort of service.

Anyone know what this is going to cost?

Has this happened to anyone before?

I turned off the water on all the toilets and sinks so my kids can't cause anymore damage.

If the housing market did not suck right now I would sell me house . We have had SO many plumbing problems with it. I just can't stand it anymore.

I am so grossed out right now its not funny. FREAKING out right now. Just FREAKING.

I am a little OCD about cleaning and this is the grosses thing I have ever seen in a house. And thats saying a lot because in my last house we had sewage back up from a private septic tank in the front yard so I said never again will I have private septic and purposly bought where we had city sewer. I grew up in the DC area and never ever had this issue. Ewwwwwww....

 

[diamondfan]

You need to call an emergency plumber.

Then call one of those restoration places like Serve Pro. They absolutely deal with water and such damage, not sure about raw sewage, which can be a health issue. They will know though. They come in and work quite quickly.

So sorry you are dealing with this...pooh, literally.

 

[choro72]

ARGH! I''ve lived in a place with pluming problems before, and let me tell you I know what smell you are talking about! To this day I''m paranoid about putting anything down even the garbage disposal. Well, I was renting the place so luckily for me I didn''t have to take care of it.
It''s a health hazard...I hope you get it fixed soon

 

[Fancy605]

Oh no! That is awful! Do you suppose something went wrong with the sump pump? DEF get ANY plumber in there ASAP. I hope it all gets resolved VERY quickly!

 

[sumbride]

EWWW!!!!

Definitely pay someone else to clean it up, a company that does that, like DF suggested. Alas, even if it is city sewer, it is most likely your responsibility. They say that pipes within your property lines are your problem... BUT it could be something like a tree root or a backup further down the line. A plumber with a pipeline camera would be a good bet. You need to find out WHY this happened.

And check your homeowners insurance. I was just reading through ours the other day and noted that this type of thing was covered. DH was relieved because it''s one of his worst nightmares due to his OCD. If the cost of the new pipes and the cleanup, etc, keep adding up, you may need to talk to your insurance company.

Good luck!!!

 

[Skippy123]

Oh gosh, I am so sorry; I can't imagine! I never had that happen, but I pray you found a good plumber.

 

[Julianna]

Sounds like a covered loss, insurance-wise. Get a plumber to fix the problem, and your insurance co can get a mitigation company out if you can''t find one. Diamondfan suggested ServPro; Servicemaster is another big one, and there are plenty of others. They can clean sewage, you don''t have to get a biohazard company out there.

The most important things are to get the problem fixed (insurance may not pay for the plumber, but they''ll pay for the fixing of your walls if he has to cut in to get to the pipe) and to get the area dried up. If it''s a covered loss, it will cost you your deductible plus the cost of the plumber.

Good luck! Don''t panic.

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Oh, SH!#!!! (Sorry, couldn''t resist!)

I would definitely call your homeowner''s insurance company . . . they should cover this! But first call a plumber, and maybe one of those cleaning services. DEFINITELY don''t feel like you have to clean it up yourself . . . that should be part of the insurance coverage as well. Good luck, and sorry this happened to you!

 

[asscherisme]

UPDATE:

I got a plumber in at 4am this morning. Turns out a tree root had grown around the sewer pipe and was cutting it off. Plumber fee $1,300 (included extra charge for off hours call)

They gave me the name of a hazardous waste clean up team. They will get here any minute. Cost $500 minimum. may be closer to $1K or higher

Carpeting needs to be replaced price unknown.

Best part: I have insurance with a $250 deductable and its all covered. I just got off the phone with the 800 number for them. Gross yes, but at least it will only cost me $250 and a HUGE Icky factor.

 

[Irishgrrrl]

YAY! I''m glad it''s going to be OK soon, and I''m glad to hear that your insurance will cover it!

 

[sumbride]

Fabulous news!!! This is why you have insurance!!!

 

[choro72]

Yay for insurance!!! Will they clean it as well? I mean wiping walls and stuff.

 

[phoenixgirl]

The same thing happened to us last year (sewage in shower basement and all)! Tree roots grew into the city pipes (old pipes made out of clay). Luckily it was the city''s responsibility to replace the pipe and fix the street.

I hope everything is clean now and the process to fix everything is quick and easy!

 

[diamondfan]

You are lucky to have coverage and a fairly low deductible. Sewage is gross but these companies are so awesome at cleaning this type of stuff, plumbing backs up a lot. And tree roots are almost always the cause of this type of stuff. My parents had to redo their entire sewer line from the street to their home due to this. Want to make you feel a BIT better about your mess, so read below!

At least you will not be too out of pocket, you will be inconvenienced for sure but at least you can get it taken care of.

I had a water tank leak while I was gone to the beach. when I came home (this was last September) the water had seeped all around my gym and kid's playroom. Mildew was everywhere. It stank and was moist. My deductible was 2500.00 but my loss was at least 25,000.00. I had to have Serve Pro out, they pulled all of my carpet and padding in those rooms, and had drying machines and had to spray anti mildew stuff. Luckily it was not raw sewage. Chubb kind of stunk though. They gave me a replacement value of my carpet and pad, installed, that was less than I paid for it 8 years ago. I had to move all of my gym stuff (a HUGE Smith machine, an elliptical, a tread and a cybex) and put it all back, this was 2500.00 as I had to pay the gym people to come out twice with three men and spend a day each time. I had to move the furniture out of the rooms and back in. Now, I ended up replacing the carpet in the two rooms only, there was a natural break point, and the carpet blends with what is out in the hall and the rest of the basement, but if I had replaced it in the entire basement, plus had to move all my home theater and bar stuff out and store it and put it back in, plus disassemble the pool table etc...my loss would have been closer to 50.000.00 My carpet yardage alone was huge, and even getting a great price on something I would have out so much more, and the movers costs and storage were not inexpensive. I had to spend nearly 10,000 on two new water heaters, since the one that died was installed in such a way that if the one BEHIND it failed, this new one would have to be removed to get it out. Plumber felt they both needed to go so I just dealt with it. Serve Pro came out and dealt with the water and smells, they had to cut away drywall, remove wall board, and I had to have a carpenter and painter out to fix it, the mold was growing up the walls. I had to throw out tons of my son's toys and stuffed animals that had been in a toy box on the floor as they were covered in mold. It was gross and awful to come home to. I could not use the gym for weeks and the kids had no playroom. All in all it really sucked. It took til close to Thanksgiving to resolve it.

But it WILL be taken care of and it will be like it never happened, I promise.

 

[jewelerman]

Im glad I read this thread.I didnt know this type of thing was covered...i learn a ton on this forum!