Sewage & Category 3 Cleanup
Category 3 water carries bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. Our crews contain it, remove it in full protective equipment, decontaminate the structure, and document every step to the IICRC S500 standard. Same day response across the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County.
Free inspection·We bill insurance direct·24/7 response·IICRC Certified Technicians
Why it matters
Category 3 water, the kind from a sewage backup or flooding, is not a mess to mop up. It is a biohazard. The safest thing you can do before we arrive is stay out of it and keep everyone else out too.
If the water has been sitting, or if it came from sewage or outside flooding, treat it as contaminated and call right away. The longer it sits, the more it spreads and the more has to come out.
What we do
We seal off the affected area with barriers and negative air so contamination does not spread to the clean parts of your home.
Crews remove the contaminated water in protective suits, gloves and respirators, never with household equipment.
Porous materials that touched Category 3 water are removed, bagged and disposed of by the rules, not dried in place.
HEPA vacuuming and air scrubbers pull fine contaminated particles out of the air and off every surface.
Hospital grade antimicrobial application kills the bacteria, viruses and mold spores left behind on the structure.
Carbon and hydroxyl treatment neutralizes the sewage gases a HEPA filter cannot catch, and we verify the air before any rebuild.
Know the category
Water is graded by how contaminated it is. Category 3 is the most serious, and it changes everything about how the loss has to be handled, including what can be saved and what has to come out.
Category 3 water can carry E. coli, hepatitis, parasites and other pathogens. Contact, and even the airborne particles, are a real health risk.
Standing contaminated water can start growing mold in about 24 to 48 hours, which turns a cleanup into a larger remediation.
The S500 standard does not allow porous materials that absorbed Category 3 water to be dried in place. They are removed and replaced.
We classify the loss and document the category from the first walkthrough, because that classification is what justifies the containment, the removal and the decontamination on your invoice.
At a glance
HEPA vacuuming, antimicrobial application, fogging and disinfection, odor control, and a final air quality check. The full decontamination workflow in one place.
Common causes
How it works
We isolate the area with barriers and negative air, then extract the contaminated water in full protective equipment.
Porous materials that touched Category 3 water are removed, bagged and disposed of following regulations.
HEPA vacuuming, hospital grade antimicrobial, and carbon or hydroxyl odor control across every affected surface.
We dry the structure to standard, verify the space is clean and odor free, then rebuild to pre loss condition.
Insurance
Category 3 jobs carry real costs that some adjusters push back on. We document each one to the standard so it holds. HEPA vacuuming for indoor air quality. Carbon and hydroxyl odor control for the sewage gases a HEPA filter does not capture. Antimicrobial application. And the removal of porous materials the S500 standard does not allow to be dried in place. We bill your carrier directly and back every line item.
Questions
Yes. Category 3 water can carry bacteria, viruses and parasites that cause serious illness. Do not clean it yourself, do not run your HVAC, and keep children and pets away. Call a certified crew with the right protective equipment.
A sewage backup is often covered only if you carry a sewer or water backup endorsement, since it is commonly excluded from the base policy. We document the cause and the Category 3 classification to the IICRC S500 standard so the claim is supported, and we bill your carrier directly.
Porous materials that absorbed Category 3 water, such as carpet, pad and the lower section of drywall, generally have to be removed rather than dried, because the standard does not consider them safe to restore. We document the contamination and the readings so the removal is justified to your adjuster.
It depends on how far the contamination spread. The work runs from containment and removal through decontamination, drying and a final air quality check before any rebuild. We give you a timeline after the first inspection.
You will usually need to stay out of the affected area for safety, and a large or whole home Category 3 loss may call for temporary relocation. We tell you which situation you are in up front, before work begins.
Related services
Water Damage
Extraction, structural drying and moisture mapping after leaks and floods.Details
Mold Remediation
Containment, HEPA filtration and removal, with the moisture source fixed.Details
Structural Drying
Air movers, dehumidifiers and daily logs that prove the structure hit dry standard.Details
Reconstruction
Licensed general contractor rebuild, from drywall to finishes, by the crew that dried it.Details Do not touch it. Call for same day emergency response across the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County. Free inspection, and we bill your insurance directly.
