A sewage backup is one of the most stressful and dangerous things that can happen in your home. The instinct is to start cleaning it up yourself — but that can make the health risk significantly worse. Here's exactly what to do.
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Sewage Backup in Your Orlando Home: What to Do Immediately
· Central Florida Disaster Recovery
Step 1: Get Everyone Out of the Affected Area Immediately
Sewage is Category 3 "black water" — it can carry bacteria, viruses, and parasites that cause illness. Keep children, pets, and anyone with a compromised immune system completely out of the area.
Step 2: Do NOT Use Any Plumbing in the House
Don't flush toilets, run sinks, or use appliances connected to your plumbing. This will push more sewage into your home. If the backup is from the main sewer line, stop all water use immediately.
Step 3: Turn Off Electricity to the Affected Area
If there's any water near electrical outlets, switches, or panels, turn off electricity to that area at your breaker. Water and sewage near live electricity is a deadly combination.
Step 4: Document Everything — Don't Touch Anything
Take photos and video of the affected area from a safe distance. Don't walk through the sewage to get better photos. This documentation is critical for your insurance claim.
Step 5: Call a Sewage Cleanup Company
Sewage cleanup requires protective equipment, specialized extraction equipment and proper disposal, so do not do it yourself. Call or text CFDR at 321-420-7274 and Ryan matches you with a sewage cleanup company. If several drains back up at once, the blockage may be in the main line: call a plumber or your sewer utility. More: sewage backup, what to do first.
Step 6: Call Your Insurance Company
Sewer backup may or may not be covered depending on your policy — some require a specific sewer backup rider. However, resulting structural damage may be covered. Ask your insurer in writing what your policy covers.
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Call any hour. Owner Ryan Solberg takes the calls; if he is on another call, he calls you back. You pay CFDR nothing, and CFDR does not bill your insurer.
Who is CFDR?
Private Orlando restoration referral service, not FEMA. Call or text 321-420-7274 24/7 and Ryan Solberg matches you with a local restoration company. You pay CFDR nothing, and CFDR does not bill your insurer.
Where does CFDR match companies?
CFDR matches homes and businesses within about 90 minutes' drive of downtown Orlando: Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Volusia, Polk, Brevard, Sumter and Marion counties. That covers Orlando, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Sanford, Winter Park, Apopka, Clermont, Lakeland, Winter Haven, Daytona Beach, DeLand, Melbourne, Palm Bay, Titusville, Leesburg, The Villages and Ocala. Tampa and Brandon are edge areas: Ryan matches them when a network company covers the address. Outside these counties, call about large commercial, multi-unit or whole-home losses.
- Orange County
- Seminole County
- Osceola County
- Lake County
- Volusia County
- Polk County
- Brevard County
- Sumter County
- Marion County
General information, not legal, insurance or medical advice. Figures and timelines in this article that do not link to a source above are typical industry ranges that CFDR has not individually verified (UNVERIFIED); confirm specifics with your insurer, your agent and the company doing the work.