Sewage Clean Up 101

Sewage spills should always be cleaned up immediately to avoid any exposure by humans or animals. Sewage based flood waters are highly contaminated and exposure may result in serious illness or even death.

As with any form of water damage, the cleanup process should begin as soon as possible to minimize any aftereffects. Some tips for cleaning sewage based water damage would include:

Wear protective clothing when working around flood waters. Long pants and sleeves, rubber gloves, water proof boots, and protective eyewear are required.

Be sure to wash your hands often after every session working in flood waters, and launder your clothes separately after completing the cleanup.

You’ll need to remove all loose items, such as furniture, appliances, and personal effects, from the damaged area. Carpet and padding will need to be taken up, wrapped in plastic, and thrown out. While carpet can normally be saved following a flood, sewage based flooding is another story altogether. It is best to just consider all carpets and rugs to be a total loss.

One of the few things that can be saved is canned food. You’ll need to remove the labels, wash and rinse the can, then let it boil for ten minutes, but the contents should be okay. Re-label them with marker or grease pencil.

You’ll need to discard other materials such as home canned food, food items in paper or cardboard and unpackaged foods such as fruit, potatoes, and squash.

For fastest and most efficient results with your water damage problems, of any kind, contact your local IICRC certified water damage restoration company.