Sewer Backup Cleanup in Somerville, MA

Sewer backup cleanup in Somerville follows a different set of rules from a clean-water leak. Sewage is Category 3 water the moment it enters the building, and it carries bacteria, viruses and other contaminants into everything it touches. The mitigation team works in protective gear, contains the area and removes contaminated porous materials before any drying begins.

Why sewers back up in Somerville

Much of Somerville was built on older combined sewers, where storm water and household waste share the same pipe. In a heavy rain or a nor'easter, those pipes can fill, and water rises in the building sewer until it finds the lowest opening, usually a basement floor drain, a basement toilet or a laundry standpipe. Low streets around Union Square and lower Somerville Avenue have a long history of storm flooding. A blocked or root-damaged lateral between the house and the street causes backups in dry weather too.

• A backwater valve on the building sewer, checked every year, reduces the risk.
• Water coming up a drain during a storm is still Category 3, even if it looks clear.

What gets removed and what gets saved

Porous materials touched by Category 3 water get removed, not dried: carpet and pad, drywall below the flood cut, insulation, upholstered furniture and cardboard storage. Hard materials, such as concrete, sealed tile, metal and most framing, are cleaned, treated with an EPA-registered antimicrobial and dried. HEPA air scrubbers run during the work to capture airborne particles. The CDC and the EPA's combined sewer overflow page explain the health risk and the sewer system behind it.

Drying after the cleanup

Once contaminated materials are out and surfaces are treated, the job becomes a structural dry-out like any other: moisture mapping, air movers, LGR dehumidifiers and daily readings until the framing and masonry reach the drying goal. See basement flood cleanup for how old fieldstone and brick basements are dried.