Sewage backing up: what to do in the first ten minutes

Stop using water. All of it

Every litre used has to come back out somewhere, and right now that somewhere is inside the property. Taps, showers, the washing machine, the dishwasher. Check for appliances on a timer, because a wash cycle starting at 6am while a drain is blocked turns a contained problem into a flooded one.

Tell everyone in the building, not just the person who noticed.

Make the area safe

Foul water is a health matter. Keep children and pets away, and keep yourself out of it where you can. If you have to move through it, cover any cuts and wash thoroughly afterwards.

If waste water is anywhere near electrical sockets or appliances at floor level, do not touch them and turn off the circuit if you can do so safely and dryly.

Protect what you can, safely

Lift what is easy to lift: rugs, boxes, anything absorbent at floor level. Do not start a full clean-up while the drain is still blocked, because more may follow and you will be doing it twice.

Photograph the affected area before moving much. If there is an insurance claim later, those photographs matter and nobody thinks to take them afterwards.

What not to do

• Do not keep flushing to see if it clears. It will not, and each flush adds volume.
• Do not pour chemical drain cleaner into standing water. It rarely shifts the obstruction and it makes the water hazardous for whoever works in it next.
• Do not lift a heavy manhole cover alone, particularly a surcharged one.
• Do not assume it is your bill. If neighbours are affected too, it is likely a shared run and the water company’s problem. See who is responsible.

Have this ready when we arrive

Which fittings are affected and which still drain. Whether neighbours have the same problem. Where the inspection covers are, if you know. Whether this has happened before.

Four answers, thirty seconds, and it genuinely shortens the visit. More on what happens on a call-out, or go straight to emergency drain unblocking.

Afterwards: cleaning and the claim

Once the run is clear, the affected area needs disinfecting rather than just mopping. Hard floors and skirtings can usually be cleaned; carpet, underlay and anything absorbent that took foul water is generally written off, and insurers expect it to be.

Keep the drainage report. Escape of water and foul flooding claims turn on cause, and the report is the document that establishes it. More on that in drainage and home insurance.

Then ask why it happened. A backing-up drain that gets cleared and never investigated tends to come back, usually at a worse hour. A survey after the emergency is what turns one visit into no more visits.