Sewage Cleanup in Red Hook

Two ways it gets in

Sewer backups. In heavy rain the sewers fill, and sewage comes back up through basement floor drains, toilets and tubs on the lowest level. In September 2023, a month's worth of rain fell on Brooklyn in about three hours, and basements across the borough filled up.

Storm floodwater. Water coming in from the harbor or the street picks up sewage and everything else on the way. It's treated the same way as a backup.

What cleanup involves

The crew works in protective gear. We extract the water, remove porous materials it touched (drywall, insulation, carpet, often lower cabinets), clean and disinfect every hard surface, then dry the space and check it before anything is rebuilt. More on basement sewage cleanup.

Not every backup comes with a storm

Plenty of backups start inside the building. Wipes don't break down the way toilet paper does, and that includes the ones labeled "flushable." Paper towels, feminine products, cotton swabs and cooking grease poured down the sink do the same. They snag inside older cast-iron and clay lines and build into a clog, and the next time the line runs full, sewage comes back up through the lowest drain in the building. See toilet overflow cleanup.

Cutting the risk next time

A backwater valve installed by a plumber stops sewer water from coming back up through your drains. Keep wipes and grease out of the pipes, keep floor drains clear, and store things off the basement floor so a backup has less to ruin.

What can be saved and what can't

Sewage soaks into anything porous, and porous materials can't be reliably disinfected. As a general rule:

• Drywall, insulation and carpet that it touched come out
• Upholstered furniture and mattresses that sat in it usually can't be saved
• Hard surfaces like tile, concrete, metal and sealed wood can be cleaned and disinfected
• Food, medicine and cosmetics that came in contact with it should be thrown away
• Photos and important papers can sometimes be saved by a document restoration service if they're handled quickly

Ground-floor shops and restaurants

For a restaurant or shop at street level, a sewage backup closes the doors until the space is safe again. We extract it, take out contaminated materials, disinfect, and dry, then document the work so you can show your insurer, and anyone else who asks, exactly what was done. See commercial sewage cleanup.

Why the lowest drain backs up first

Sewage takes the lowest way out. When the line leaving your building is blocked, or the street sewer is overloaded, the first fixture to overflow is whichever sits lowest: usually a basement floor drain, then a basement toilet or shower.

• If several drains gurgle or back up at once, the problem is likely the main line or the city sewer
• If only one fixture backs up, it's more likely a clog in that fixture's own line
• If it only happens in heavy rain, the sewer is probably overloaded, and a backwater valve is worth asking a plumber about

Knowing which one you have tells you whether to call a plumber, the city, or both. See sewer backup.