It is 9pm on a Saturday. The washing machine finished its cycle, and now water is coming up through the floor drain in the basement. Your first move costs nothing: shut off every water source in the house.
A blocked line has nowhere to send what you send into it. Every gallon you add pushes more of it back up through the lowest opening in the house. Stopping the flow is the one action that limits the damage before a plumber arrives.
Minute one: stop everything that puts water in the line
Turn off the washing machine and the dishwasher mid cycle. Tell everyone in the house to avoid the toilets, the sinks, and the showers. Check that no ice maker or humidifier is filling.
The lowest fixture in the house takes the overflow. In most Westminster homes that is a basement floor drain, a basement shower, or a laundry sink.
Water already in the pipes will finish draining out, so what you prevent is the next several gallons.
Minute two: move people and pets upstairs
Sewage that comes back up is wastewater from the whole house. Treat it as a health hazard and get children and pets to another floor.
Do not wade into standing water near an electrical panel, a furnace, or a water heater. If water has reached any of those, shut off power to the basement at the breaker. Otherwise wait outside for help.
Gloves and rubber boots are worth the two minutes it takes to find them.
Minute three: find out whose pipe failed
This step decides who pays, so it is worth doing before you call anyone.
Westminster names the property owner as responsible for the sewer lateral, the pipe from your house to the connection with the city main. If the blockage is in the city main instead, the city sends a crew. Their wastewater page gives the number for Wastewater Collections, 303-658-2500.
Two clues point toward the city side. The strongest is neighbors on the same block reporting a backup at the same hour. Watch also for sewage surfacing at a manhole or in the street.
Everything else points back at your own lateral. In a pre-1980 Westminster home, that is where the odds land.
What to avoid pouring down the drain while you wait
Chemical drain cleaner is the wrong tool for a main line blockage. The product cannot reach a clog forty feet out in the yard, so it pools in the pipe.
It also creates a hazard for whoever opens that line next. A plumber pulling a cable through caustic liquid takes a splash risk that nobody needs.
Boiling water brings its own problem. It softens grease enough to move it a few feet, where the grease cools and hardens in a spot that is harder to reach.
Photograph everything before anyone cleans up
Take pictures of the water line on the wall, the affected rooms, and any damaged belongings. Note the time it started.
Insurance claims for sewer backup depend on documentation, and most policies treat backup coverage as a separate rider. Photos taken before cleanup are worth more than a description written a week later.
Save the invoice and the camera footage from the plumbing visit. Both become evidence of the cause.
Who to call, and in what order
Call the city first if neighbors are affected or sewage is surfacing in the street. In every other case, a plumber is the first call.
When you call us, describe which fixtures backed up and whether more than one is involved. That tells us before we arrive whether we are looking at a branch line or the main.
Our drain cleaning crew in Westminster brings hydro jetting machines, FlexShaft tools, and a camera on the truck. The diagnosis and the fix happen on the same visit.
Once the line is open, the question shifts to why it closed. Our guides to what blocks a kitchen line and how often a main line should be cleaned cover the two answers we give most often.
We answer the phone at (720) 829-9475 at any hour, with no extra charge for nights or weekends. If the water has stopped and you want a visit tomorrow instead, use our contact page.
