Sewer Backup: What to Do Right Now

Stop using water, call the utility

Do this now

Stop using water everywhere in the house right away: showers, dishwasher, clothes washer, every flush. Everything you send down is coming back up at the lowest fixture.
Call your water utility's emergency line before you pay anyone. Metro utilities will send someone to check whether the blockage is in the public main; Gwinnett, for example, sends an investigator day or night. If it's the main, the fix may be theirs, not yours.
Treat the backup as contaminated. Sewage carries bacteria, viruses and parasites; skin contact can cause infections and swallowing any of it causes worse.
Suit up before touching anything: waterproof boots, gloves, eye protection, washable or disposable clothes, and a dust mask so you're not breathing droplets.
Stay out of standing sewage that touches outlets, cords or appliances. Cut power at the breaker first, and if you would have to stand in water to reach the panel, stop and call an electrician instead.
Don't run the furnace blower or whole-house AC if ducts took on wastewater.

Can you fix it yourself?

Cleanup maybe. The line, no.

A small, contained backup you can clean yourself with protection: discard soaked porous materials (carpet and padding rarely survive), wash hard surfaces with detergent, then disinfect per the product label, with windows open and never mixing bleach with ammonia. EPA's guidance is blunt that sewage-contaminated damage is a job for experienced professionals once it's beyond small. Clearing the lateral itself is machine work, and in every metro Atlanta city we cover, the pipe between your house and the main is legally your pipe.

When to call a pro

The utility checked and the public main is clear, which means the clog is in your lateral
Backups repeat, which points at roots, grease or a broken pipe rather than bad luck
Sewage spread beyond one room or soaked flooring and drywall
Your basement fixtures sit low: Georgia plumbing code requires a backwater valve when the lowest fixture is below the next upstream manhole, and a plumber can tell you if you have one and whether it works

Request a plumber

We're a referral directory, not a contractor; this button opens our request form.

What to ask the plumber

Will you camera the lateral and give me the recording?
Is this a clear, a spot repair, or a lining and replacement conversation, and what did the camera show to justify it?
Does my house have a backwater valve, and if not, what would installing one cost?
Are you licensed in Georgia, and will this work need a permit?

Questions we hear

Who pays, me or the county?

Depends where the blockage sits. The public main is the utility's. The lateral between your house and the main is the owner's in every city we cover, and Fulton County's flyer goes as far as saying the owner's responsibility holds even when the blockage sits inside a public right-of-way. Gwinnett will reimburse in one narrow case: a blockage confirmed inside the right-of-way, with their inspection before the repair. That's exactly why the utility call comes first.

Is there any help paying for prevention?

Smyrna reimburses up to $600 of plumbing fees for installing a backwater valve at at-risk properties, with written pre-approval and a licensed contractor pulling the permit. If you're elsewhere, ask your utility; programs change.

What causes most backups?

Grease is the big one. Cobb County's water system attributes 85 percent of its sewer blockages to grease, mostly in residential areas. Let grease harden and trash it; hot water and soap only move it far enough to cool and stick in your own pipes. Wipes and roots do much of the rest.

Sources

Every number and local fact above comes from one of these, read 2026/10. Spot something out of date? Tell us.

Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources: Sewer Service Lateral Repair and Cleaning Policy (homeowner handout)
Indiana Department of Health: Homeowner Guidance on Cleaning Up After Residential Sanitary Sewer Backups
U.S. EPA: A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home
Fulton County: Water and Sewer Service Laterals (flyer)
City of Smyrna: Sewer Backups
Cobb County Water System: Fat, Oil and Grease (FOG)
Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources: Fats, Oils and Grease
Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources: Sewer Lateral