It’s bad enough to have water flood your home. A sewage backup is not only inconvenient and disgusting, but potentially hazardous to your health. It occurs when wastewater, instead of draining through the sewer system, reverses direction and finds its way up through your basement drain, toilets, sinks, and other plumbing fixtures. Dirty water can back up from a city sewer system or septic system; either way, when this happens, you’ll need sewage backup cleanup fast.
What to Do When You Have a Sewage Backup
This is a dangerous situation because sewage is filled with human waste, garbage, mineral salts, and organic matter. Extensive water damage can occur. There’s also a concern over bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens. Odorous and flammable gases may be present that can be an immediate danger to your home and family.
When you have a sewage backup, take the following steps:
1. Determine the Source of the Problem
When you suspect a toilet or sink is clogged, use a plunger to try to clear it out. A plumbing snake can often do the trick as well. Contact a plumber if you can’t resolve the problem yourself. But if you fixed it, you can localize the blockage; if not, then it’s safe to assume there’s a larger problem deeper in your plumbing or sewage system, especially if sewage backs up and you’re not running any water.
2. Try to Clear Any Blockages
When you suspect a toilet or sink is clogged, use a plunger to try to clear it out. A plumbing snake can often do the trick as well. Contact a plumber if you can’t resolve the problem yourself. But if you fixed it, you can localize the blockage; if not, then it’s safe to assume there’s a larger problem deeper in your plumbing or sewage system, especially if sewage backs up and you’re not running any water.
3. Protect Your Home
If sewage is backing up and you can’t stop it, the first steps you take are critical. Here’s what you should do immediately:
- Do not enter the basement if there is standing water.
- Shut off electricity; water and electrical current are a deadly combination.
- If you must turn off power where there’s a flood:
- Wear rubber gloves, boots, a face mask, and safety glasses.
- Use a wooden stick to shut the main breaker.
- Open windows to let in fresh air and let fumes escape.
- Run fans to clean out the air.
- Use a dehumidifier to dry out the air, floors, walls, and other surfaces.
- Don’t let kids or pets near flooding.
- Wipe down and air out appliances and outlets exposed to water.
- Check for damage to tanks and lines connected to fuel oil or gas systems.
- Don’t remove affected carpet; keep it in place and clean with a mild detergent.
- If any furniture, floors, drapes, or clothing are exposed to flood waters, scrub and wash clean:
- Use the city water supply if you can; it already has chlorine to provide some disinfection, or:
- Eliminate chlorine by boiling tap water and adding soap.
- Mix water and household bleach to disinfect floors and other surfaces (one tablespoon of bleach (5.25%) to every four gallons of water).
- Curtains and draperies should be disinfected by a professional dry cleaner.
- Throw out carpets you can’t clean, as well as carpet pads, cardboard boxes, mattresses, books, cloth upholstery, laminate flooring, and unpainted drywall.
- As you clean your home, start from the top, then work your way down.
- Clear standing water with a shop vacuum or, for larger amounts of water, a water pump.
- To prevent mold, spray a fungicide or antiviral agent.
4. Contact the Utility Company
A safer alternative than doing so yourself is to call the utility company to shut off your gas and electricity. If the electrical panel is damaged or you’re not sure, don’t touch it. Don’t start any electrical appliance that is submerged. Any appliance with a gas connection should not be relit unless the gas company has checked it and given the okay.
Do not use any device that can spark, or light a match, when there are sewer gas odors or before the utility gas has been turned off.
5. Discard Any Food Exposed to Flood Waters
Throw out any food in a refrigerator/freezer that has taken in wastewater. Even if flood water didn’t reach the appliance and power was out long enough for food to thaw out, throw these items away unless you can prepare them right away. Discard thawed meats and vegetables, milk, cheeses, or canned food that’s leaking or bulging.
6. When to Discard Items
If you can’t clean and disinfect clothing, furniture, carpets, bedding, or toys, they should immediately be discarded. Any clothing discarded should be placed in a tightly closed container until it can be picked up or thrown away. Whatever movable objects have contacted wastewater should be taken outdoors, cleaned, and air dried in sunlight. It’s also important, after touching contaminated items, to not touch your eyes, nose, and mouth until you wash your hands thoroughly. Wash all clothing and parts of the body that touched flood waters and sewage.
7. Take Photos Before Any Extensive Cleanup
While there are more urgent steps to take during a sewage backup, make sure to photograph the damage with a camera or cellphone. Send the pictures to your insurance company if it covers sewer backups and related damage. It can also provide more information on how to remediate any damage caused by wastewater.
Contact a Home Restoration Specialist
Restorerz provides 24/7 sewage cleanup assistance in and around Los Angeles and has Institute of Inspection, Cleaning & Restoration Certification. Our crews can reach you in 60 minutes or less and address issues such as water/sewage removal, sanitation, and mold prevention. We’ll assess the damage and use any tools necessary to clean up the mess. In addition to sewage backup cleanup, we can work with your insurance company. To get started, fill out our online contact form or call 323-970-4792.