Flooded Home
Sewage backups often cause flooding. If you have standing water, read the flooded home emergency guide.
What To Do Now →Sewage Backup in Your Home — What To Do RIGHT NOW
Raw sewage in your home is a health emergency that requires immediate professional response. Keep your family and pets out of the affected area and call TruRenu now.
Do These 5 Things Immediately
Get everyone out of the affected area immediately
People and pets should vacate any room with sewage backup and stay out until professional remediation is complete. Category 3 water (sewage) contains bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can cause serious illness from skin contact or inhalation of airborne particles.
Stop using all water fixtures in the home
Do not flush toilets, run sinks, operate the dishwasher, or use the washing machine. Any additional water entering the drain system will worsen the backup and spread contamination further.
Turn off your HVAC system
Heating and cooling systems can distribute contaminated air particles throughout your home. Turn off the system at the thermostat until professional assessment is complete and the affected area is contained.
Do not attempt to clean it yourself
Household cleaners and bleach are not effective against sewage pathogens, and applying them without proper PPE puts you at serious health risk. Wait for professional biohazard remediation with proper containment and hospital-grade antimicrobials.
Call TruRenu — 888-867-4911
We respond the same day with full biohazard protocols, containment setup, professional-grade antimicrobials, and all necessary disposal procedures for contaminated materials.
What NOT To Do After Sewage Backup
Sewage backup requires a different response than clean water flooding. These mistakes can turn a manageable remediation into a serious health hazard.
-
Don’t touch sewage or sewage-contaminated materials without full PPE — even brief skin contact with Category 3 water is a health risk. This is not a job for rubber kitchen gloves.
-
Don’t run any drains, toilets, or water fixtures — adding water to a backed-up system forces more sewage into the affected area and extends the scope of contamination.
-
Don’t use household bleach or disinfectants — bleach is not effective against the full range of pathogens in sewage, and improper application can spread contamination rather than eliminate it.
-
Don’t run fans or open the HVAC — airborne particles from disturbed sewage can spread contamination to clean areas of your home.
-
Don’t let pets near the affected area — animals can track contamination throughout the home and become seriously ill from contact with sewage.
What Happens When You Call TruRenu
Phone assessment
We assess the scope and source of the backup by phone, confirm the affected area, and dispatch a crew with full biohazard equipment same day.
Containment setup
Before any work begins, we establish containment barriers to prevent cross-contamination of unaffected areas. This protects the rest of your home during the remediation process.
Safe removal of contaminated materials
All porous materials that have absorbed Category 3 water — drywall, insulation, carpet, pad, and sometimes subfloor — must be removed and disposed of according to biohazard waste protocols. These materials cannot be disinfected; they must be removed.
Hospital-grade antimicrobial treatment
All affected structural surfaces are treated with hospital-grade antimicrobial agents formulated for Category 3 contamination. This is not bleach — it is professional-grade product designed specifically for pathogen elimination.
Drying and verification
After removal and treatment, commercial drying equipment is placed and we verify that all moisture levels have returned to safe levels before rebuilding begins.
Insurance coordination
We document all contamination, all materials removed, and all work performed for your insurance claim. Many sewage backup situations are covered under water backup endorsements.
Why Sewage Backup Cannot Wait
Unlike clean water damage, sewage contamination cannot be addressed “when it is convenient.” Category 3 water soaks into porous materials within hours. Drywall, insulation, and wood framing that absorb sewage cannot be disinfected — they must be removed entirely. Every hour of contact between sewage and structural materials expands the scope of mandatory removal.
Health risks escalate with time. Bacteria and viruses in sewage can survive on surfaces and in materials for days. A contained backup that is remediated within hours requires far less demolition and is far less hazardous than the same backup addressed 24 hours later.
The difference in scope between an immediately-addressed sewage backup and one that sits overnight is often the difference between removing a single bathroom’s drywall and removing an entire floor’s worth of structural materials. Call now.
Sewage Backup in the Atlanta Metro Area
Older neighborhoods in the Atlanta metro — particularly those with original clay sewer laterals installed before 1970 — experience significantly higher rates of sewage backup than newer construction. Communities including Decatur, Tucker, Norcross, Brookhaven, and Stone Mountain have substantial housing stock built in the 1950s through 1970s where tree root infiltration into aging sewer pipes is a recurring issue.
Heavy rain events are the other major trigger for sewage backup in the Atlanta metro. When combined stormwater and sanitary sewer systems reach capacity during the intense summer thunderstorms that drop 3 or more inches of rain in a short period, sewage can be pushed backward through the lowest drains in a home — typically basement floor drains, first-floor toilets, and shower drains. This is a particularly common problem in denser urban areas of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.
TruRenu provides same-day sewage backup remediation throughout all of Gwinnett, DeKalb, Forsyth, Hall, Barrow, Jackson, and Fulton counties. Our crews arrive with full biohazard protocols and everything needed to contain, remove, and remediate Category 3 water contamination.
Water Damage Restoration Services in the Atlanta Metro Area
Sewage backup is a form of water damage requiring specialized biohazard protocols. Our full water damage restoration services address every category of water event.
Related Emergencies
Dealing With a Related Emergency?
Burst Pipe Emergency
If a sewer line burst caused the backup, you may also have water damage from the break itself.
What To Do Now →Mold Found in Home
Sewage-contaminated areas are high risk for mold growth. Know what to do if you find mold afterward.
What To Do Now →
Common Questions
Sewage Backup FAQs
The most common causes of residential sewage backup are tree root infiltration into clay or cast-iron sewer laterals, clogs from non-flushable materials (wipes, paper towels, grease), aging or collapsed sewer pipes, and municipal sewer line overload during heavy rain events. Homes in older neighborhoods with original clay sewer laterals — common in Decatur, Tucker, Norcross, and Brookhaven — are at significantly higher risk. During heavy Atlanta metro rainfall, combined stormwater and sewer systems can back up into homes when the municipal system is overwhelmed.
Sewage backup coverage depends on your specific policy. Standard homeowner’s insurance does not automatically cover sewage backup — it typically requires a separate water backup endorsement or rider. If the backup resulted from a covered event (such as sudden pipe failure rather than gradual deterioration), the damage may be covered under your main policy. TruRenu helps document the cause and scope of sewage damage and works with your insurance company to maximize your claim under whatever coverage you have.
Sewage contains Category 3 water — also called black water — which includes bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other pathogens that pose serious health risks. Direct contact can cause gastrointestinal illness, skin infections, respiratory issues, and in vulnerable individuals (elderly, children, immunocompromised) can be life-threatening. Sewage contamination soaks into porous materials within hours, contaminating drywall, wood framing, insulation, and flooring. Professional biohazard remediation using hospital-grade antimicrobials and full personal protective equipment is required.
No — sewage backup requires professional biohazard remediation. Household cleaners, bleach, and disinfectants are not effective against the full spectrum of pathogens present in Category 3 water. More critically, porous materials that have absorbed sewage — drywall, insulation, wood framing, carpet — cannot be adequately disinfected and must be removed and properly disposed of. DIY cleanup without proper PPE also puts you at serious health risk. Professional remediation uses hospital-grade antimicrobials, containment protocols, and waste disposal procedures that household cleanup cannot replicate.
Sewage Backup in Your Home? Call TruRenu Now.
Same-day biohazard response throughout Gwinnett, DeKalb, Forsyth, Hall, Barrow, Jackson, and Fulton counties. Professional Category 3 water remediation. Direct insurance billing.
888-867-4911Available 24/7 — Serving the Atlanta Metro Area