Emergency Sewage Backup Cleanup in Morristown, NJ

Sewage coming up through a drain, toilet or floor in your Morristown home or business? Keep out of it. We remove the contaminated water, take out what can’t be saved, then clean, sanitize and dry the area. Call [PHONE] any time. We aim to reach emergency calls in Morristown within 60 minutes.

Sewage in the House? What To Do and What Not To Do

Sewage carries bacteria, viruses and parasites. The goal right now is to keep people away from it and stop it from spreading.

Do this

• Stay out of the water. If you have to go in, wear waterproof boots and rubber gloves, and wash your hands well afterward.
• Keep children, pets and anyone with a weak immune system away from the area.
• Stop using sinks, tubs, showers, washing machines and toilets. Water you send down the drain can come back up.
• If the water is near outlets or the breaker panel, stay out and call us and your electric utility.
• Take photos and short videos from a safe spot, then call [PHONE]. We answer emergency calls 24/7.

Don’t do this

• Don’t run fans or use a household vacuum. They spread contamination through the air and the house.
• Don’t run the furnace or air conditioner if the backup is near the vents or ductwork.
• Don’t eat or drink anything that touched the water.
• Don’t mix cleaning products. Mixing bleach and ammonia makes a toxic gas.

How To Tell It Is Sewage, and Why It Is Treated Differently

If water came up from a toilet, tub drain or floor drain, and it is cloudy, dark or smells bad, treat it as sewage. When in doubt, assume the worse.

Restoration companies call this black water, the most contaminated kind. Unlike a clean pipe leak, it can’t be dried and left. Soft materials that soaked it up, such as carpet, pad, insulation and drywall, are usually removed, because they can’t be cleaned well enough to be safe.

A toilet that overflows with clean tank water is a smaller problem. If the water came from the bowl and had waste in it, treat it as sewage.

What Caused the Backup, and Who Fixes That

Cleanup deals with the damage. The cause needs a different fix, and a different trade.

We handle the cleanup after the cause is stopped, or while it is being fixed. If you aren’t sure where the problem is, ask your neighbors. If they have backups too, it is probably the main line in the street.

Cause	Who fixes the cause
A clog in your home’s drain or sewer line, from grease, wipes or roots	A plumber or drain cleaning service
A broken or collapsed sewer line	A plumber
A blockage or overload in the town’s sewer main	Your town’s sewer or public works department
Heavy rain overloading drains	Often the town or a plumber, depending on where the problem is
A full or failing septic system, if your home has one	A septic company

How We Clean Up After a Sewage Backup

1. Sewage jobs follow a strict order. Each step keeps the contamination from spreading to the next area.
2. Check hazards and protect the crew. We wear protective gear, close off the affected area and shut down air movement that could carry contamination.
3. Remove the sewage. We pump out and extract the contaminated water. See our page on emergency water removal.
4. Remove porous materials that touched it. Carpet, pad, insulation, soaked drywall, mattresses and upholstered items are bagged and taken out.
5. Clean. We scrub hard surfaces and framing to remove soil and film, because disinfectant works only on a clean surface.
6. Sanitize. We apply an antimicrobial treatment to floors, framing and any surface that touched the water.
7. Deodorize and dry. Dehumidifiers and air movers (high-powered fans) dry the space once the contamination is removed. Our structural drying page explains the process.
8. Check before repairs. We check moisture readings, and nothing is rebuilt until the area is dry and clean.

Sewage in your home now? Call [PHONE]. We answer emergency calls 24/7.

What Gets Removed and What Can Be Saved

The rule is simple. Hard, sealed surfaces can often be cleaned. Soft and porous ones usually can’t.

We tell you what we think can be saved before we remove anything.

Item	What usually happens
Carpet and pad	Removed and replaced
Drywall and insulation	Cut out and replaced where sewage reached
Wood framing and subfloor	Cleaned, sanitized and dried, if solid
Concrete, tile and sealed surfaces	Cleaned and sanitized
Hardwood floors	Often replaced
Upholstered furniture and mattresses	Usually discarded
Hard plastic, metal and glass items	Often cleaned and sanitized
Food, medicine and cosmetics	Discard anything the water touched
Electronics and appliances	Don’t plug in until checked. Some may be unsafe to keep

Sewage Backups in Morristown

Backups often come with heavy rain. Storms can overload drains and push sewage into basements and floor drains. Morris County’s hazard plan lists river and urban flooding among its most likely flood risks, and Hurricane Ida in September 2021 brought about half a foot of rain to Morristown.

Basements and ground floors

Sewage rises to the lowest point, so basements and ground floors take the worst of it. If water came in from outside as well, see our page on flooded basement help.

Apartments, condos and shared buildings

In a building with several units, a backup in a shared line can reach more than one home. The lowest unit usually sees it first. We record where the contamination spread so owners and managers have a clear picture.

Restaurants, offices and shops

A business may have to close until the area is cleaned. We plan the work to get you reopened as soon as the job allows. See business water damage.

When Is It Safe To Use the Space Again?

Not as soon as the water is gone. A space is ready when all of these are true:

• The sewage and the soft materials it soaked have been removed.
• Hard surfaces and framing have been cleaned, then sanitized.
• Moisture readings show the structure is dry.
• There is no sewage smell left in the room.

We tell you when we think the area is ready. Until then, keep children and pets out, and don’t move stored items back in. A room that looks clean can still hold moisture in the walls and floor, and that is where odor and mold come from.

What Affects the Cost of Sewage Cleanup

• Sewage jobs have more steps than clean water jobs. These are the main factors.
• How much sewage and how far it spread. One bathroom and a whole basement are very different jobs.
• What it soaked. Carpet, pad, drywall and insulation all need removal and disposal.
• How long it sat. The longer it sits, the deeper it soaks and the stronger the odor.
• Cleaning and sanitizing. Surfaces and framing need cleaning, then sanitizing, then drying.
• Access. Basements, crawl spaces and tight stairs slow the work.
• What comes after. Some jobs end at cleaning and drying. Others need repairs. See rebuilding after drying.

Call [PHONE] and describe what happened. We can tell you what the job is likely to involve.

How To Lower the Risk of Another Backup

• Don’t flush wipes, even ones sold as flushable, and keep grease out of drains.
• Have a plumber camera your sewer line if you have had slow drains or repeated backups.
• Ask a plumber about a backwater valve, which helps stop sewage from flowing back into the house.
• Keep floor drains clear and don’t store valuables right next to them.
• Raise stored items off the basement floor, in plastic bins on shelves.

Questions About Sewage Cleanup

Sewage Backup in Morristown? Call Now

Call [PHONE] any time for sewage and water emergencies. We aim to reach emergency calls in Morristown within 60 minutes. For repair planning and other questions, call during [HOURS].