Septic emergencies
What do I do when septic is backing up into the house?
Straight answers from a family owned septic company serving Denver and the Colorado Front Range for over 20 years.
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- Family Owned & Operated
- 20+ Years of Septic Experience
- Serving Denver & the Front Range
- Licensed & Insured
Septic backup into the house A septic backup into the house is wastewater returning through the lowest drains, floor drains, tubs, or toilets because it cannot exit through the tank or the drain field. It is an active discharge, not a slow drain.
Sewage inside the living space is a health hazard and it will keep coming with every gallon of water used until the flow is stopped.
Stop all water use immediately and call for emergency service. A septic backup into the house means the tank or the line to it is full or blocked and wastewater has nowhere to go but back through the lowest drain. The most common causes are an overdue tank, a plugged main line, a failed outlet baffle, or a drain field that has stopped accepting effluent. Every gallon you send down a drain makes the backup worse.
What you are seeing
- Sewage rising in a basement floor drain, shower pan, or lowest toilet
- Multiple fixtures backing up at once
- Strong sewage odor indoors
- Water backing up when the washing machine drains
What it usually means
Ranked by how often we find each one on Front Range properties.
- 1
Tank is full past the outlet
Most likelyMissed pump-outs let sludge reach the outlet and the whole system backs toward the house.
- 2
Main line blockage
CommonWipes, grease, and paper build a plug between the house and the tank.
- 3
Drain field failure
CommonA field that will not take water keeps the tank full, so the house backs up again days after a pump-out.
- 4
Broken or collapsed pipe
PossibleSettling, roots, or vehicle loads can crush the line and stop flow entirely.
- 5
Frozen line in winter
Less commonA shallow or slow line can ice up during a Front Range cold snap and back up overnight.
What to do right now
- Stop all water use in the house. No flushing, no laundry, no dishwasher.
- Keep people and pets away from contaminated water.
- Turn off power to any area with standing water before you enter it.
- Do not use drain chemicals. They will not clear a full tank.
- Call 720-427-7557 for emergency septic service.
When it is an emergency
Call 720-427-7557 right away if any of these are true.
- Sewage is on a finished floor or in living space
- Water is near an electrical panel or outlet
- The backup returns within hours of stopping water use
What the fix typically involves
Emergency pump-out
We pump the tank down first to relieve pressure and stop the backup at the house.
Locate the blockage
We clear the main line or the outlet and confirm the tank is receiving flow again.
Find out why it happened
Recovery rate after pumping tells us whether this was a one-time clog or the start of field failure.
What drives the cost
We do not post flat prices, because the same symptom can be a filter cleaning or a drain field replacement. These are the factors that set the number on your property. You get the price before we start the work.
- Emergency timing and how far out the property is
- Tank size and volume removed
- Whether line clearing or excavation is required
- Any baffle, lid, or pump repair found during service
Tell us what your system is doing
Send the details and we will tell you what we think is going on and what it takes to fix it. We serve Denver, Westminster, and the Colorado Front Range.
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Septic trouble? We answer the phone.
Family owned and operated, serving the Front Range for over 20 years.