Sewage backup cleanup in Chicago
- 22 ZIP codes covered in Chicago
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- Contaminated water and mold
Sewage backup cleanup in Chicago
Chicago and its older suburbs are served by combined sewers: one pipe under the street carries both household sewage and stormwater. In an ordinary rain that works. In a cloudburst the pipe fills, and the mixture takes the lowest open path, which is often the floor drain of a basement. On July 2, 2023, record rainfall on the West Side sent sewer water into thousands of basements in Austin and nearby neighborhoods.
The city's bungalows, two-flats and three-flats almost all have basements, and many are finished as family rooms or garden apartments. A backup in a finished basement is Category 3 water: carpet, pad, drywall, paneling and upholstered furniture that it touched are removed, and the concrete, framing and remaining contents are cleaned, disinfected and dried. Furnaces, water heaters and laundry appliances that sat in the water need to be inspected before they are used again.
The Deep Tunnel system and its reservoirs have reduced overflows, but they cannot hold every storm. For an individual house the common protections are a backwater valve on the sewer line or an overhead sewer conversion, which pumps basement waste up to a line that leaves the house above the level of the street sewer. Local agencies ask residents to avoid running dishwashers, laundry and long showers during heavy storms to leave room in the pipes.
More about water damage in Chicago.
Sewage backup cleanup at a glance
- Service area
- Chicago, IL, Cook County
- Water category
- Category 3 (black water)
- Removed
- Carpet, pad, drywall and insulation it touched
- Protective gear
- Required for cleanup crews
- Line repair
- Plumber clears and inspects the sewer line
How the job works
Contain
The affected area is sealed off and the crew wears protective gear.
Remove
Sewage is extracted and contaminated porous materials are bagged and removed.
Disinfect
Hard surfaces and framing are cleaned and treated with disinfectants.
Dry and clear the line
The structure is dried, and a plumber clears the blockage and inspects the line.
Signs, costs and general questions
The warning signs, the factors that affect cost, safe first steps and answers to general questions are the same everywhere. They are covered on the main sewage backup cleanup page.
Questions about sewage backup cleanup
Why did sewage come up in my Chicago basement when it rained?
Combined sewers carry stormwater and sewage together. When intense rain fills the pipe, the mix backs up through the lowest drain connected to it, usually the basement floor drain.
Does homeowners insurance in Illinois cover sewer backup?
Only if you bought a water or sewer backup endorsement. It is optional, and its limit is often lower than the cost of a finished basement, so check the amount on your policy.
What is an overhead sewer?
It is a plumbing change that routes basement fixtures to an ejector pump and sends all waste out through a pipe above the level of the street sewer, so a full sewer cannot flow back into the basement.
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