Sewage Backup and Floor Drain Cleanup in Grosse Pointe, MI

First steps when sewage backup and floor drain cleanup hits

• Keep everyone out. Do not walk through the water, and keep children and pets away from the basement.
• Stop adding water. Hold off on washers, dishwashers, showers and flushing until the backup clears, since that water drains to the same sewer.
• Skip the mop and bleach. Bleach does not make porous materials safe, and mopping spreads contamination into dry areas.
• Call for Category 3 cleanup. Containment and removal start on the first visit, and drying follows only after the area is cleaned and treated.

A sewer backup is Category 3 water the moment it comes up the drain. Many of the older sewers in the Pointes are combined, carrying storm water and sewage in the same pipe, so a heavy storm can overload them and push dirty water up through the lowest opening in the house: usually the basement floor drain, a laundry tub or a basement toilet. The cleanup crew handles it with containment and protective gear, not a mop.

What does sewage backup and floor drain cleanup cost in Grosse Pointe, MI?

Sewage backup cleanup here typically runs $1,500 to $15,000 or more, set by how deep the water got, how much finished basement it touched and how long it sat.

Ranges are typical, not a quote: the water category, square footage, material class and how fast drying started move the number most. Run the water damage cost calculator for a closer range.

What a Category 3 cleanup includes

• Containment: plastic barriers and HEPA air scrubbers under negative pressure keep contaminated air out of the rest of the house.
• Protective gear: respirators, disposable suits, gloves and boots at minimum.
• Removal: carpet, pad, paneling, drywall and insulation the water touched are cut out above the water mark and bagged.
• Cleaning: hard surfaces are washed and treated with an EPA-registered antimicrobial left on for its full dwell time.
• Drying: air movers and dehumidifiers go in only after cleaning, and readings run until the slab and framing are dry.

What the June 2021 storm showed about floor drains

The late-June 2021 storm dropped several inches of rain in a few hours across Detroit's east side and the Pointes, and basements filled from the floor drains up. It showed how a combined sewer can flood a house from below. A backwater valve installed by a plumber is the usual fix for the cause, and the walkthrough notes whether one is present and whether it closed.

What can be saved and what cannot

Porous materials touched by sewage, such as carpet, pad, upholstered furniture, cardboard and the bottom of drywall, get removed rather than dried. Concrete, tile, metal and sealed wood can usually be cleaned, treated and kept. The response team photographs and lists each removed item for the claim file before it leaves the house.

For safety guidance, see OSHA flood cleanup hazards and the EPA list of registered disinfectants. When the same storm also flooded the yard and window wells, the storm and flash flood cleanup work runs alongside.