There’s no sugarcoating it — a sewer backup is one of the worst things that can happen in your home. Raw sewage coming up through your drains, toilets, or basement floor is more than just disgusting. It’s a genuine health emergency that puts your family at risk.
And in Northern Colorado, sewer backups spike every summer. Heavy thunderstorms overwhelm municipal systems, aging infrastructure struggles to keep up, and homeowners from Johnstown to Fort Collins to Windsor find themselves dealing with a mess they never expected.
If you’re dealing with a sewer backup right now, here’s the most important thing to know: don’t try to clean it up yourself. Call a professional immediately. We’ll explain why — and walk you through everything you need to know.
What Causes Sewer Backups?
Several factors can force sewage back up into your home, and many of them are more common than you’d think:
Heavy Rainfall and Storm Surges
Northern Colorado’s summer thunderstorms can dump an inch or more of rain in under an hour. When that much water hits the storm and sanitary sewer systems at once, the system can become overwhelmed. The excess has to go somewhere — and sometimes it backs up through the lowest drain in your home, usually a basement floor drain or toilet.
Tree Root Intrusion
Tree roots are naturally drawn to the moisture in sewer lines. Over time, they work their way into joints and cracks in older pipes, creating blockages that restrict flow. Many neighborhoods in Loveland, Fort Collins, and the older parts of Windsor have mature trees and aging clay sewer laterals — a perfect combination for root problems.
Aging Municipal Infrastructure
Some sewer lines in Northern Colorado communities are decades old. Cracked, collapsed, or deteriorated pipes can’t handle the volume they were designed for, especially during heavy use or storm events.
Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG)
Cooking grease poured down the kitchen drain is one of the most common causes of sewer line blockages. It solidifies in the pipe, catches debris, and gradually creates a dam that eventually backs up.
Combined Sewer Overflows
In some areas, stormwater and sanitary sewage share the same pipes. During heavy rain events, the combined volume exceeds capacity and raw sewage can be forced back into homes.
Why Sewer Water Is So Dangerous
The restoration industry classifies water damage into three categories. Sewer backups are Category 3 — also called “black water” — the most hazardous classification.
Category 3 water contains:
- Raw human waste and fecal bacteria
- E. coli, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, and other pathogens
- Parasites including Giardia and Cryptosporidium
- Chemical contaminants from household and industrial sources
- Viruses that can cause serious gastrointestinal and respiratory illness
Direct contact with, or even breathing air contaminated by, sewage water can cause:
- Severe gastrointestinal illness (vomiting, diarrhea)
- Skin infections and rashes
- Respiratory problems
- Hepatitis and other serious infections
- Long-term health effects with prolonged exposure
This is not a cleanup you should attempt on your own. No amount of bleach, household cleaner, or shop-vac work makes sewage-contaminated materials safe without professional treatment. The health risks are real and serious — especially for children, elderly family members, pets, and anyone with a compromised immune system.
What to Do When Sewage Backs Up Into Your Home
Step 1: Get everyone out of the affected area.
Keep your family and pets away from any rooms with sewage water. Close doors to contain the contamination. Don’t walk through it, don’t try to remove belongings from it, and don’t let anyone — especially children — near it.
Step 2: Turn off the HVAC system.
If sewage is in your basement or near your HVAC system, shut it down. Running your furnace or AC can spread airborne contaminants throughout your entire home.
Step 3: Call Revive Restoration — before you call insurance.
Here’s why: a sewer backup requires specialized Category 3 water damage protocols. We arrive with the right PPE (personal protective equipment), industrial extraction equipment, antimicrobial treatments, and HEPA air scrubbers to contain and remove the contamination properly.
More importantly, we document everything your insurance adjuster needs to see — the scope of contamination, affected materials, moisture readings, and photographic evidence. When we’re already on-site working, your claim goes smoother and faster.
Call us at (720) 340-3499 — we respond 24/7 across Northern Colorado.
Step 4: Do NOT attempt cleanup yourself.
We can’t stress this enough. Even after the visible sewage is gone, contamination remains in porous materials — drywall, carpet, carpet pad, wood framing, insulation. These materials typically need to be removed and replaced, not cleaned. Professional antimicrobial treatment and structural drying are essential to make your home safe again.
Step 5: Don’t use any plumbing until the backup is resolved.
Running water or flushing toilets can make the backup worse. Wait until a plumber has cleared the line and confirmed it’s flowing properly.
Does Insurance Cover Sewer Backups?
This is where it gets tricky — and it’s one of the most common questions we hear.
Standard homeowner’s insurance policies in Colorado typically do NOT cover sewer backup damage. It’s usually an optional add-on endorsement (sometimes called “sewer and drain backup coverage” or “water backup coverage”) that costs $40 to $100 per year.
If you have this endorsement, your policy will typically cover:
- Cleanup and restoration costs
- Damaged personal property
- Necessary repairs to your home
If you don’t have it, you could be looking at $5,000 to $25,000 or more in out-of-pocket costs depending on the scope of the damage.
Our advice: Call Revive first. We’ll assess the damage, provide professional documentation, and help you understand what your policy covers before you file. We work directly with insurance companies every day and know exactly how to present your claim for the best possible outcome.
If you don’t currently have sewer backup coverage, talk to your insurance agent about adding it. It’s one of the most affordable and valuable endorsements you can add to your policy — especially in Northern Colorado where summer storms make backups more common.
How to Reduce Your Risk
While you can’t prevent every sewer backup, these steps significantly lower your chances:
- Install a backwater prevention valve. This device, installed on your sewer lateral, allows sewage to flow out but prevents it from flowing back in during a backup. It’s the single best investment you can make.
- Have your sewer line inspected with a camera. A plumber can identify root intrusion, cracks, and buildup before they cause a backup. We recommend this every 2 to 3 years for older homes.
- Never pour grease down your drains. Let it cool, put it in the trash.
- Don’t flush anything except toilet paper. Wipes — even “flushable” ones — are a leading cause of sewer blockages.
- Keep an eye on your basement floor drains. If water is gurgling, draining slowly, or producing odors, that’s an early warning sign.
Fast, Professional Sewage Cleanup Across Northern Colorado
At Revive Restoration, we understand that a sewer backup is an emergency — both for your home and your family’s health. We serve homeowners across Johnstown, Loveland, Fort Collins, Windsor, and the entire Northern Colorado Front Range with fast, professional Category 3 water damage restoration.
We arrive quickly, contain the contamination, extract and remove affected materials, treat the area with industrial antimicrobials, dry the structure completely, and work directly with your insurance company from start to finish.
You don’t have to deal with this alone.
Revive Restoration — (720) 340-3499 — 24/7 Emergency Response Across Northern Colorado