1. Protect people first
Residents, tenants and staff are moved out of the area while the crew sets up protective gear and containment.
Chinatown, San Francisco, CA · San Francisco County
Wastewater has come up through a drain in Chinatown and the smell is spreading. Call (877) 812-4220 to get the sewage removed, what cannot be saved discarded and the rest sanitized.
If anyone is in danger, call 911 first. For a suicide crisis, call or text 988.
Commercial sewage cleanup is the same biohazard work done in shops, restaurants, offices and apartment buildings, where many people share the space and the area must be cleared and sanitized before use resumes.
Need residential or commercial sewage cleanup in Chinatown or nearby parts of San Francisco County? Call Chinatown Biohazard Cleanup Help for help in your basement, crawl space, garage, restroom, kitchen or utility room, wherever wastewater has spread.
Renters make up about 62% of households in San Francisco. Tenants should tell the landlord right away, and the cleanup team can provide documentation for the lease and any claim. Chinatown averages about 21 inches of rain a year. Backups here usually come from blockages, roots or broken pipes rather than storms, but the cleanup is the same.
Sewage & Biohazard Cleanup in Chinatown usually includes:
Residents, tenants and staff are moved out of the area while the crew sets up protective gear and containment.
Plastic barriers and air controls go up, and technicians suit up before they enter the sewage area.
Liquid is removed first, then anything that cannot be cleaned, such as soaked flooring and wall board.
Disinfectant is applied to every affected surface, the space is dried and aired out, and the crew inspects the finished work.
Most sewage & biohazard cleanup jobs in Chinatown, San Francisco, CA cost between $1,500 and $10,000, based on published cost guides.
How long the sewage has been sitting plays a part. Older backups soak deeper into materials and leave stronger odors that take more treatment.
| Type of job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Category 3 sewage | $2,500 - $10,000 |
| Most homeowners | $2,000 - $10,000 |
| Typical project | $2,000 - $10,000 |
| Category 3 sewage | $7.50 - $7.50 per square foot |
Published ranges only (Bob Vila, Fixr, BioCleaners Directory, Biohazard cleanup company pricing guide); every sewage & biohazard cleanup job in Chinatown is priced after an on-site look. Price drivers include square footage affected, category of water, porous materials that must be removed, drying time. Questions? Call (877) 812-4220.
Treat it as raw sewage. Keep people out of the bathroom, stop using the fixture and call for cleanup. The liquid can reach under flooring and into walls, so a crew checks beyond the visible puddle.
Common signs include a sewer smell in the yard or crawl space, soft or damp ground near the foundation, gurgling drains and slow drains in several fixtures at once. A plumber can confirm the leak. Once it is found, a cleanup team can take care of the contaminated soil, materials and odor.
Keep people and pets out, turn off power if water is near outlets, and avoid touching the sewage. Safe cleanup needs protective gear, extraction, removal of soaked materials and disinfection. For anything more than a small spill, a cleanup company is the safer choice.
Drywall is porous and holds contamination that can spread germs and odor long after the surface looks clean. Crews usually cut out wall board that sewage touched, and often take out a margin above the wet mark to reach clean material.
Watch for a rotten-egg or sewer smell, wet spots or stains on floors and walls, unusually green grass over a pipe, and multiple drains backing up at the same time. If any of these show up, keep people away from the area and have the cause checked.
The smell comes from the contamination, so the fix is removing sewage and soaked materials first, then disinfecting and deodorizing. Air fresheners only cover it. If the odor persists, hidden material such as subfloor or insulation may still hold sewage.
See all biohazard cleanup services in Chinatown, San Francisco, CA →
Keep people and pets out, then call (877) 812-4220.
Call (877) 812-4220