Loss type: sewage backup. Water category: Category 3, the contaminated classification. Area affected: full basement. Location: Louisville, Kentucky.
Sewage came up into a Louisville basement. Not a leak, not a drip. It came up through the low point of the floor and spread across the slab, under stored contents, under an area rug, and up against the bottom of the finished walls.
This is the job from arrival to dry, with the homeowner details left out.
What a Category 3 Backup Looks Like
That is not a puddle. That is contaminated water sitting under a family’s belongings on a basement floor, and every porous thing it touched has now become a decision about what gets saved and what leaves the house.
The rug in that photo is the easy call. It goes. Cardboard boxes, particle board furniture, anything porous sitting in that water, all the same answer.
Why Sewage Is Not a Mop and Bucket Job
The IICRC sorts water into three categories. Category 1 is clean, Category 2 is grossly contaminated, and Category 3 is the one that carries bacteria and real health risk. Sewage is Category 3 from the second it arrives. There is no window where it is merely inconvenient. We break the three down in our guide to the categories of water damage.
What that classification changes in practice:
- Porous materials that got wet leave the house instead of getting dried in place
- Everyone working the loss is in protective equipment with half face respirators and HEPA cartridges
- Air is filtered and controlled so contamination does not travel into the rest of the home
- Every piece of equipment gets decontaminated before it leaves
The First Move Is Containment, Not Cleanup
Before extraction started, the work area was put under negative air. A large air scrubber with a HEPA exhaust filter ran for the duration of the job, pulling air out of the affected space and filtering it, so airflow moves toward the contamination instead of away from it and up the stairs.
Then full PPE. Heavy duty gloves, half face respirators with HEPA only cartridges, and the hazardous cleanup package. Homeowners sometimes read this as theater. It is not. It is the difference between cleaning up a sewage backup and spreading one through the house.
Extraction, Cleaning and Sanitizing
Contaminated water was extracted off the slab with a wand, then the affected surfaces were cleaned and sanitized. HEPA vacuuming with a HEPA filtered canister handled the fine debris that extraction leaves behind.
Same basement after. The slab is cleaned down to the concrete, and you can see the floor drain sitting at the low point, which is where this whole thing came up in the first place.
Drying a Basement Sitting at 74.5 Percent Humidity
That is the atmospheric reading we logged in that basement. 74.5 percent relative humidity at 71.4 degrees. That is a mold environment. You can remove every drop of standing water and still lose the basement if you walk away at that number.
Air movers and a 110 to 159 pint per day dehumidifier ran on the space with the negative air unit still filtering, and readings were checked through the job as the equipment worked. Equipment came out when the readings said the structure was dry, not when the calendar said so. Same structural drying standard we run on every loss.
Getting that number down is also the whole reason a job like this does not become a mold removal job three weeks later.
What Had To Leave the House
Porous contaminated material was bagged and hauled out, dump fees handled on our end. Homeowners are usually surprised by how much of it there is, and by how ordinary most of it looks. If it is porous and it sat in Category 3 water, it goes. That is not us being cautious, that is the standard.
How the Billing Worked
The mitigation on this loss was estimated, invoiced and paid. The estimate was written in Xactimate with the equipment days, the PPE, the HEPA filtration and the decontamination documented as separate line items rather than buried in a lump sum, because that is what holds up under review.
We bill insurance directly and work with most carriers, including State Farm, Travelers, Kentucky Farm Bureau and Liberty Mutual. Worth knowing before you need it: sewer and drain backup is frequently a separate endorsement on a homeowners policy rather than something included by default.
If Sewage Backs Up in Your Basement
- Stay out of it. Category 3 water is a health risk, and a wet basement often means standing water near outlets and equipment.
- Stop using water upstairs. Every flush, sink and washing machine cycle adds to what is coming up downstairs.
- Do not run your HVAC if the return is anywhere near the affected area, or you will move contaminated air through the whole house.
- Photograph it from the stairs before anyone touches anything.
- Call a restoration company, not only a plumber. The plumber clears the line. The contamination is a separate job.
Our full process is on the sewage cleanup page, and if the water reached a finished basement, see flooded basement cleanup.
Common Questions About Sewage Cleanup
Can I clean a small sewage backup myself?
We would tell you not to. Category 3 water carries bacteria, the porous material it touched has to be removed rather than cleaned, and without containment and HEPA filtration you move the contamination into the rest of the house instead of out of it.
Does everything in the basement have to be thrown out?
No. Hard, non porous items that can be cleaned and sanitized generally stay. Porous items that sat in the water generally go. We walk the contents with you rather than making that call behind your back.
How long does a sewage cleanup take?
Extraction and cleaning move fast. Drying sets the length, because equipment stays until the readings say the structure is dry. A basement like this one is a several day job, not a several hour one.
Will mold grow after a sewage backup?
It will if the space is not dried properly. That basement was sitting at 74.5 percent relative humidity when we arrived. Bringing that down and proving it with readings is the entire point of the drying phase.
What does sewage cleanup cost in Louisville?
Our minimum for water damage, including drying equipment, is $1,500. A contaminated loss costs more than a clean water loss of the same size because of the PPE, the filtration, the decontamination and the material that has to be removed. We can provide an initial rough mitigation estimate; the final mitigation estimate is prepared after mitigation is complete. See our water damage insurance process for the later adjuster walkthrough and repair agreement.
Sewage in Your Basement Right Now?
Do not wait, and do not go down there. Every hour that water sits is more porous material that cannot be saved and more time for the humidity to do its own damage.
Call (502) 365-6779. Calls only, no texting. A live person answers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we are on site within one hour. 741 Google reviews with a 4.9 overall rating (verified September 2026), IICRC certified, insurance billed directly, and we carry the job through the repairs.
