Advantages of hiring a professional
Having sewage backup in your basement after a storm is not a pretty sight; in fact it’s downright stomach turning. Sewage backup occurs when the sewage lines under the streets get too full, the raw sewage will spill out of the nearest drain it can find, and if you’re unlucky enough it will be near your home. This kind of sewage backup occurs when there are heavy rains. Other reasons for sewage backup are damaged sewer pipes, or just plain lack of proper maintenance of the septic systems.
Possible health risks
When you get exposed to the raw sewage, you are in risk of getting numerous kinds of illnesses and infections, and if you are not able to do immediate sewage damage clean up mold and other types of nasty things will start growing on your walls and floors, making your entire home structurally unstable. If you don’t act on it quickly sewage backup will compromise your family’s health and may even cause you to lose your home.
Of course you would want to get rid of the awful raw sewage that has found its way into your home as quickly as possible, but because of its toxic nature you should think twice about doing the sewage damage clean up on your own. These types of tasks are better left to the professionals. A professional sewage damage company has the necessary skills and equipment to get the job done quickly and efficiently.
What to do first
The first thing that they would do is to remove as much of the sewage as they can. Professionals have equipment like submersible pumps to quickly pump out as much of the contaminated water they can before coming in with the mops and buckets. After getting rid of the water, they would disinfect the area to kill any germs and bacteria that may have been left over. They would also use fungicide on the spots that were submerged in water because these areas are highly prone to growing fungi, which will be another health risk to your family.
The visible stagnant water is not the only one that should be removed; the moisture in the air that was also caused by the flood should also be taken out so that mold and other fungus would not grow. Using a dehumidifier and spreading desiccants over the area will take care of all the humidity.
The technicians would also advise you to get rid of any furniture that was exposed to the raw sewage, especially mattresses, couches, generally anything upholstered that was submerged in the contaminated water. No amount of cleaning will ever get rid of all the bacteria and germs that have penetrated the fibers in the upholstery, so it’s better if you just get rid of them.
Another advantage of getting the help of a professional sewage damage repair company is that they will be able to assess if there was any damage that was done to the structure of your home because of the water.
