Sewage backup in a home is hazardous and risky. It is always unpleasant and can create an unhealthy environment. Major sewage backups happen due to open floor drains and problems in sewage plumbing. Having regular checkups on sewages will ensure a safe sewage system. Once you notice a leak or overflow of the sewage at home, take immediate actions, like calling a plumber and rectifying the issue. Otherwise, the sewage backup will become a major health and safety problem.
Environmental cleanup
Environmental cleanup is the first and foremost step to be done after sewage backup. We can do the environmental cleanup by both physical and chemical cleanups. Physical cleanup includes the removal of sewage water, sewage wastes, and debris. The person who is doing the physical cleaning has to wear the necessary protective gears.
After physical cleanup, it is advisable to do the chemical cleanup. This is to ensure that the dangerous microbes like bacteria and viruses that cause for diseases like Hepatitis A, salmonella, bacillary dysentery and skin infection would be thoroughly killed. Chemical cleanup has to be performed on the places that are affected by sewage backup.
Necessary items for cleaning the sewage backup
- Bucket
- Hose
- Gloves or protective suit
- Cleaning Products like brush
- Rags
- Chemical disinfectants
Cleaning of home after sewage backup
There are certain things you have to keep in mind before cleaning the home after sewage backup. First you have to disinfect the things which were touched by the sewage water. You have to wear gloves or protective suit in order to protect yourself from microbes. Washing of hands frequently during the cleaning will keep you away from the infection.
We can do this task of cleaning home after sewage backup by ourselves by following certain steps.
Step1: Some of the items in the household would have been touched by the sewage water. So you have to take an important decision whether to keep all that things or to destroy them. Either way you are responsible for that.
Step2: Collect and keep the things that are needed for the cleaning of sewage backup. You have to make sure all the necessary cleaning stuff are available within your reach. Do not compromise on cleaning solution or cleaning equipments because these are important for complete cleaning.
Step3: You have to remove standing water, if any, using pumps or by doing it manually, so that cleaning of the entire household would be more easy and time saving.
Step4: It is better to clean the rooms one by one. First you have to make a cleaning solution using the effective cleaning products especially made for the cleaning of sewage. Pour the fresh water into the room and then use the cleaning solution. Put this for some time and rinse it using sponge or any other material used for cleaning.
Step5: After cleaning the room with cleaning solution, you have to spray or sprinkle the disinfectant chemicals to kill the microbes and germs. If you detect bad smell again, or if you feel the need to clean more, then do the basic cleaning again using cleaning solutions and chemical disinfectants.
Step6: After cleaning the room, the moisture or the dews in the surface has to be dried out. You can dry out the room by opening the windows and rooms so that air from the outdoors will help you dry out the surface. You can also use the fan or dehumidifier to remove the moisture from the surface of the room.
Step7: You have to make sure all the interiors and other objects in the household are properly cleaned and dried out before closing the cleaning activities. If the carpets in your house have soaked by sewage, it is better to throw that out.
How to make cleaning solution
We can use non-sudsing household cleaners as cleaning solution for sewage backup. Alternatively, you can use washing soap or detergent for cleaning sewage. Liquid chlorine bleach can be used as a chemical disinfectant to kill the germs. Other effective disinfectants are household sanitizers such as quaternary. These are the fine cleaning solutions and they are very easy to make.
Protect your family during sewage backup
You can protect your love ones with these steps:
- Avoid physical contact with sewage water without gloves or protective suit
- Avoid children playing in the sewage backup area
- Wash you hands frequently while cleaning the sewage backup area
- Do not consume any food that are exposed to sewage backup area
- Better to call a plumber while you notice the sewage backup
- Persons with skin diseases or cut in the skin should not clean the sewage backup
Immediate steps
When you find a sewage backup, the immediate step you have to do is to call your plumber. Only your plumber knows the whereabouts of sewage pipelines. Thus he can easily find out the problem and sort it out immediately. Otherwise you may feel difficult to find out sewage backup. Then you can call your electrician to see whether it would affect your electrical connections. Before calling your electrician you have to disconnect the electrical line.
Most important step in the cleaning up of sewage backup is to make the environment dry. You can pump out the water using pumps and dehumidifiers to dry out the environment. Thus you can prevent the illness and damages to your home. Environmental cleanup is vital to avoid the presence of microbes and bacteria. Proper dry out methods will help you to avoid such scenarios and keep you and your family healthy.
You have to check the structural damages and gas leaks if any when you clean the sewage backup. Turn off electricity and gas before cleaning the sewage affected area. Dispose the objects which are touched by the sewage water properly, because these may cause diseases.
You have to close the drain openers when you find out the sewage backup. To close the drain you can use stoppers or plugs. In order to provide additional weight to the openers, you can use tub or floor drains. Keep the children and animal off from the affected area. You can take uncontaminated objects away from there. Use the wet vacuum cleaners to wipe out the standing water from the surface of the floor. If any of your electrical equipments are unwired, ask the assistance of your electrician in order to avoid electric shock.
How to prevent sewage backups
- Always inspect the screw cap of the sewage drain opener.
- Repair or change drain openers if there is any damage or leakage.
- Advanced back flow prevention devices for sewage will help you to prevent sewage backups.
- Regular home inspection is necessary.
- Seal or waterproof the foundation of floor
- You can install a check value in the sewage drain and it will protect you from the untimely backups.
- Remove or replace sink or toilet if that caused the sewage backup.
Installing a pump in order to collect and pump out the water from the lower point of basement would be a better preventive method to avoid the sewage backup. Whenever you are building a gutter downspouts or drains, make sure to direct it away from the foundation of the home. If the flood occurred previously, then you might know the flood level. Thus you can keep the furniture and other valuable from that place to avoid damage. We can avoid the sewage backup through proper preventive methods and techniques.
Key things to note after sewage backup
You may get unwanted materials in your home while cleaning the sewage backup. It is important to make sure that you are disposing those materials properly into a sanitary line or floor drain. Otherwise it will harm your health, as well as others. Do not simply throw those materials into the drainage.
Most of the damages during the sewage backups are covered by insurance. In order to claim the insurance, you can take the photographs of the sewage backup and call the insurance agent immediately after that. When your agent arrives in the spot, show the damages caused by the sewage backup. If you have the receipt of those works, that would be better to get the refunds from the insurance company as soon as possible.
Professional service
Some of the sewage backups are very easy to find out in the initial stages and can troubleshoot earlier itself. On the other hand, other sewage backups are complicated to locate and repair. On those situations, you need the help of professionals who are providing specialized services in sewage backups. If you find out the sewage backup and ignore that, then it will lead to extensive damages.
Once you find out the sewage backups, you can hire the service of these professionals. They will help you to sort out the problem. Their inspection and cleaning will protect the sewage drainer from further damages or backups. Though their services may be costly, it would definitely be more effective and safe than doing it yourself.
