Sewage backup
Sewage backup in a Missouri City home
Sewage is a health matter first and a property matter second. Keep people and pets out of the room and do not try to clean it up with a household mop.
Say the street address first. Calling soon after a loss helps.
What to do right away
Keep out
Children, pets and anyone with a weak immune system should stay away from the affected rooms.
Stop using water
Do not flush, run the washer or use the dishwasher. Every fixture feeds the same line.
Find the cause
If only one fixture is slow, the clog may be inside the house. If several back up at once, the blockage is farther down the line.
Call the right party
Your water or sewer operator can say whether the main in the street is blocked. A plumber clears the house line.
Call for cleanup
Water that came up from a sewer line must be removed and the area disinfected by a restoration contractor.
Whose line is it
In Sugar Land, for example, the city says the homeowner is responsible for water and wastewater lines that connect to the city's mains, and repairs under the yard or inside the house are the homeowner's. See its water and wastewater page.
Missouri City water service runs through municipal utility districts, so the answer depends on your subdivision. The city lists the operators on its utilities page.
What cleanup removes
Carpet and pad that sewage touched are almost always discarded. Drywall and insulation that wicked it up are cut out.
Hard flooring and framing are cleaned and treated, then dried. Contents are sorted by what can be washed and what cannot.
Water is still moving. Call about it now.
Describe what happened, give the street address, and the call is routed to an independent restoration contractor.