Sewage cleanup and biohazard companies by state

Sewage is Category 3 water

There's no separate IICRC standard for a sewage backup. It falls under S500, the water damage standard, which sorts water into categories by contamination. In the definition the IICRC quotes from the current S500, Category 3 water is "grossly contaminated and can contain pathogenic, toxigenic, or other harmful agents". The examples start with sewage and include "wasteline backflows that originate from beyond any trap regardless of visible content or color."

That last phrase matters in practice. Water backing up from beyond a drain trap can look fairly clean and still be Category 3. Under S500 the restorer makes that call as a preliminary determination after inspecting the site.

The standard is also clear about order of work. On Category 2 or 3 jobs, remediation should come before restorative drying, and the restorer shall use contamination controls and appropriate worker protection. A crew that sets up drying fans on a sewage loss before anything is removed or cleaned is doing it backwards.

Biohazard is a different job

Our practice label joins sewage and biohazard because companies often offer both. The standards are different. Trauma and crime scene cleanup, meaning blood and other potentially infectious material, falls under ANSI/IICRC S540, the Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup. It covers inspection, work plans, and the packaging, transport and disposal of regulated infectious waste. When a company says "biohazard," ask which of the two it means.

What to check on the company's site

Fewer listed companies document this work than water damage, so the website detail carries more weight here:

• The contamination steps written out: containment, removal of affected materials, cleaning, then drying.
• A 24/7 line and a stated response time. A backup in a lived-in home can't wait for Monday.
• How contaminated material leaves the property and where it goes.
• Which standard they follow, S500 for sewage or S540 for trauma work. Naming one on the site counts as a self-reported item in our score. An IICRC Certified Firm record is a separate third-party check, not logged for any company yet.
• Insurance claim help: photos, a written scope and a record of what was removed. Check what your own policy says about backups before you sign anything.

The table below

Each state row counts listed companies whose own website documents sewage cleanup or biohazard work. Where a state row is small or missing, check the water damage page too. A company can handle sewage without saying so on its site, but we only count what it has written down.