Sewage Cleanup in Cicero: Finished Basements After a Backup
A sewage backup into a Cicero finished basement usually means the finish comes out.
Sewage Cleanup quote in Cicero
Tell us where the water came from, what got wet and whether it has stopped. A person reads every request and matches it to a licensed, insured water damage contractor. If water is still coming in, close the main shutoff before anything else.
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Cicero's housing and sewer district
ACS 2020 to 2024 estimates give the Town of Cicero a median year built of 1980 across 13,584 housing units, with only 6.9 percent built in 1939 or earlier, and 80.8 percent of units single family detached. About 19.4 percent of occupied units are renter occupied.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024 five year estimates, accessed 2026-09-24
Onondaga County WEP asks residents with sewage backing up to call 315-435-3157, which it answers at any time, every day, for properties connected to the public sewer inside the Consolidated Sanitary District. For City of Syracuse properties it directs the call to the City Department of Public Works on 315-448-CITY, 315-448-2489, and outside the district to the town or village, usually its DPW. Properties not on public sewer are told to contact a licensed plumber or service expert.
Source: Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection, accessed 2026-09-24
The CDC's guidelines for cleaning safely after a disaster say to wear rubber boots, rubber gloves and goggles if sewage is involved, to keep children and pets away from the affected area until cleanup is complete, to remove and discard drywall and insulation contaminated with sewage or floodwater, and to wash with soap and water afterward, cleaning and applying antibiotic ointment to any cut or sore that was exposed.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed 2026-09-24
The Water exclusion in the ISO HO 00 03 05 11 form removes coverage for water which backs up through sewers or drains, or which overflows or is otherwise discharged from a sump, sump pump or related equipment, and for flood and surface water. The 2011 wording adds that the exclusion applies regardless of whether the water is caused by an act of nature or is otherwise caused. For the plumbing and freezing provisions the form also states that a plumbing system does not include a sump, sump pump or related equipment.
Source: Insurance Services Office, via Maine Bureau of Insurance, accessed 2026-09-24
What a backup does to a newer Cicero basement
Cicero's homes are the newest in the metro, a median year built of 1980, and many have finished basements with carpet and drywall. When sewage backs up into one, the CDC advises removing and discarding drywall and insulation it contaminated, and carpet and pad soaked by it are generally removed too. That is a bigger job in a finished Cicero basement than in a bare older one, which is why the first step, before any cleanup, is photographs of every finished surface and every stored item where it sits.
The sanitary district and the endorsement
Connected properties in the Town of Cicero are inside the county's Consolidated Sanitary District, whose line, 315-435-3157, is answered at any time for sewage backups and checks the public side. Call it before booking the cleanup. Then read the declarations page: the standard HO-3 form excludes water that backs up through a sewer or drain unless a water backup endorsement was added, and that changes who pays for the finished basement.
Rule out the public sewer first
Stop running water and call whoever runs your sewer before a private cleanup is booked. Their side costs you nothing to check.
Ask what comes out and what is cleaned
Porous materials soaked by sewage generally come out; hard surfaces and framing are cleaned and disinfected. The list should be written down before work starts.
Photograph where it came up
The drain, the toilet or the wall it came through, and the height it reached. Backup water and flood water are read under different parts of a policy.
Sewage or flood water in a Cicero basement?
Stop running water, keep people out and photograph where it came up. Then send the details.
Other Cicero water damage jobs
Cicero questions about backups in finished basements
Sewage backed up into my Cicero finished basement. What has to go?
Generally anything porous it soaked: drywall to above the water line, insulation, carpet and pad, and upholstered items. Concrete, framing and hard surfaces are cleaned and disinfected. Photograph and list everything before it goes.
What should I wear if I have to go in?
The CDC says rubber boots, rubber gloves and goggles, with children and pets kept away until cleanup is done, and washing with soap and water afterward. Never mix bleach with ammonia or any other cleaner.
Tell us where the water came up in Cicero
Floor drain, toilet, tub or through a wall from outside. It decides what the cleanup is.