⚠️ Sewage is a health hazard — keep kids and pets away, and don't handle it without gloves and boots. If sewage is widespread, let professionals do the cleanup.
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🕳️ Sewer Backup

Unpleasant, but manageable. First protect your health, then figure out whose pipe it is.

Health check: sewage carries bacteria and viruses. No bare-skin contact, wash hands aggressively, and keep children and pets out of affected rooms until they're cleaned and disinfected.

1Safe first steps

  • Stop adding water. No flushing, no laundry, no dishwasher, no showers — everything you drain right now comes back up.
  • Check whether neighbors have it too. On a rowhome block, multiple houses backing up at once usually points to the city main — report it to your water utility (numbers on your city page).
  • If it's just your house, the blockage is likely in your lateral (the pipe from your house to the main) — that's typically the owner's responsibility.
  • Open windows and ventilate the affected area.
  • If you have a floor drain backing up, remove anything of value from the basement floor now, not later.

✕What not to do

  • Don't pour chemical drain cleaner into a backed-up main line — it doesn't clear main blockages and turns the standing water caustic for whoever augers it.
  • Don't run a shop-vac on sewage while standing in it, and never on a damp electrical circuit.
  • Don't let anyone pressure you into a full lateral replacement on the spot — get the camera footage and a second opinion for anything over a simple augering.
  • Don't throw away damaged items before photographing them.

📷What to document

  • Photos/video of the backup point and every affected room, including water height marks.
  • Date, time, and what was draining when it started.
  • If a contractor cameras the line: ask for the video file. It's yours — you paid for it, and it's your proof and second-opinion tool.
  • Everything discarded, itemized with photos, for insurance.

?Questions to ask a drain contractor

  • "Is the price for augering flat-rate, and what happens if the line needs a camera?"
  • "Can I get the camera footage and the exact location/depth of any defect?"
  • "Is the problem in my lateral or at the city connection?" — this decides who pays.
  • "Are you registered/licensed here?" — verify: PA · MD · NJ.
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Educational disclaimer: Rowhome Ready is an educational directory, not an emergency dispatcher or a substitute for professional cleanup of sewage. Confirm hours, pricing, insurance, licensing, and availability directly with each business, and report suspected city-main problems to your utility.