Toilet Overflow Cleanup in Hull

Two different problems

A blocked toilet overflowing. Something in your own pipework is stopping it draining. Stop flushing, turn off the isolation valve on the cistern if there is one, and deal with the blockage once the water's cleaned up.

Water coming up from below. If the downstairs toilet is bubbling or filling on its own, especially in heavy rain, the problem is usually further down the sewer. In Hull that's common, because most rainwater runs into the same combined sewers as the waste, and when the system is full it backs up into the lowest fittings. Report it to Yorkshire Water on 0345 1 24 24 24, day or night.

What we do

1. Remove the water as contaminated waste, not down another drain.
2. Lift what it soaked. Bathroom vinyl, carpet in the hall and underlay rarely survive. Laminate and chipboard flooring swell. We photograph them before removal.
3. Disinfect floors, the base of walls, skirting and anything else the water touched.
4. Dry the floor and walls with readings, so nothing is left damp under the new floor.

Downstairs toilets in Hull homes

Plenty of Hull terraces and semis have had a ground-floor toilet or shower room added in the back extension, often at or below the level of the street drains. That's the fitting sewage finds first when the sewer surcharges. If it has happened to you more than once, a non-return valve on the drain can stop it. Hull City Council fits them to its own new flood-resilient homes.

Insurance

If your own toilet overflowed, the damage is usually an escape of water or accidental damage claim. If sewage came up from the public sewer in a storm, it's more likely a flood claim. Tell your insurer which, with photos. More on sewage cleanup.

To see what a leak like this usually costs to put right, and what you'd pay after your excess, use our water damage cost estimator.