Commercial Sewer Backup Response in Phoenix

Stop sending water into the line, keep people out of the affected area and call us. In order:

1. 1Stop using water. No flushing, no dish machine, no faucets in the area. Every gallon you send down the stopped line comes back up somewhere.
2. 2Keep people out. Close off the affected area. Staff and customers should not wade through or touch sewage. CDC's advice for anyone cleaning it up is rubber boots, goggles and gloves, and a waterproof bandage over cuts.
3. 3Take the smell seriously. OSHA says hydrogen sulfide, the sewer gas, is toxic, builds up in low and enclosed spaces, and stops being detectable by smell after a while. If the odor is strong or people feel dizzy or sick, leave the space.
4. 4Call us. We answer 24/7. Tell us which fixtures, whether sewage is on the floor and how far it has spread.
5. 5Note the time and take photos of what you see before anything is moved. You may need them later.

If you run a food establishment, add one step: discontinue operations in the affected area and notify the health authority. We cover that below.

We find out whether the stoppage is in your private line or in the city's main. In Phoenix, the city handles city-owned sewer in rights of way and easements, and everything from the connection back to the building is yours. If other buildings on your street are backing up as well, or the manhole in the street is surcharging, report it to the city on its 24/7 emergency hotline at 602-261-8000. Our crew cannot clear a blockage in the street, and the city cannot clear a clog in your building drain, so it matters which one you are dealing with.

The cleanout tells us a lot. A cleanout that is full, or one that overflows when opened, points to a stoppage downstream of it. A cleanout that is empty while the building backs up points to a stoppage between the fixtures and that cleanout.

We open the line, find the stoppage and clear it, and then confirm the cause. In order:

1. 1We identify the pattern: which fixtures, which floor, what the lowest openings are doing.
2. 2We clear the stoppage, with a cable or a jet depending on what we find. For a main, see restaurant main line jetting, and for the stoppage itself, same-day commercial drain stoppage.
3. 3We run a camera to find out why it happened: roots, a break, scale or a grease coating. See sewer camera inspection.
4. 4We tell you what we found and what prevents a repeat, and we give an upfront price for any repair before it starts.

We are plumbers. We do not do the sanitizing, drying or restoration work, which is a separate trade, and we do not decide when a business can reopen. We clear the line and fix the cause.

For a food establishment, the rules are written in the food code Maricopa County adopts. Section 8-404.11 requires the permit holder to immediately discontinue operations and notify the regulatory authority when an imminent health hazard such as a sewage backup may exist. You need not stop in areas the hazard does not affect, so a backup in the dish room does not by itself close an unconnected dining room, but the health authority decides what counts as affected. Section 8-404.12 requires approval from the authority before you resume.

That means a repaired pipe is not the same as a reopened kitchen. Ask the health authority what it needs to see before you reopen. Our guide to the restaurant sewage backup reopening checklist walks through what to have ready.

For offices, stores and multi-tenant buildings, the food code does not apply, but the health risk does. See sewer backup in a multi-tenant building for who to call first, and our page for property managers.

• It is a slow drain, not a backup. If nothing has come up, a scheduled visit before opening or after close is the better answer. See before-open and after-close drain service.
• The water is clean. Clear water on the floor is a leak, not a sewage backup, and leak detection is the next call.
• The city's main is surcharging. Report it to the city. We can still check your line once the city main is open.

Call us now. We give an upfront price before work starts and free estimates for repairs, and our night dispatcher takes calls at any hour, with a supervisor following up in the morning for anything that can wait. For the services behind this, see emergency plumber, commercial drain cleaning and restaurant plumbing.