Steps for Cleaning Your Home After a Sewage Flood

6/4/2020 (Permalink)

If your home suffers a sewer backup, quick sewage cleanup is crucial

What Steps Should Be Taken?

Discovering a flooded toilet at your Perry, OK, home is bad enough, but when it’s due to a sewer backup, it’s even worse. Sewage cleanup needs to begin immediately. So, what steps should be taken?

1. Practice Safety
First and foremost, evacuate everyone from the affected area. Anyone who’s working to remediate the situation should wear personal protective equipment (PPE). Goggles, a respirator, rubber gloves, Tyvek coveralls, and rubber boots are ideal. The area may also need to be contained to protect unaffected areas. Utilities should be turned off immediately, including electricity, gas, and water. To be safe, the utility company should be contacted for shutoff. Do NOT enter the area beforehand

2. Ventilate the Area
Proper ventilation is essential after a sewer backup. The stench and harsh odors from cleaning chemicals can be overpowering. Circulate air by opening windows and doors and running fans. However, don’t turn on the HVAC system; it can cause cross-contamination into other parts of the house.

3. Extract Standing Water
A wet/dry vacuum is one of the safest, most effective tools for removing standing water and small debris during sewage cleanup. They can be rented or easily found in hardware or department stores. If there’s debris, make sure the hose doesn’t clog. Also, be sure to empty the tank before it gets too full.

4. Dispose of the Unsalvageable
Next, anything that can’t be thoroughly cleaned, disinfected, and dried within 48 hours will have to be disposed of. Many porous materials such as drywall, carpeting, and upholstery will probably be unsalvageable.

5. Clean, Sanitize and Dry
When all unsalvageable materials have been removed, any leftover raw sewage and debris need to be eliminated. Then, all remaining contaminated materials and surfaces require thorough cleaning and sanitizing. Finally, it’s crucial that everything is dried thoroughly within 48 hours to prevent mold growth.
If your home suffers a sewer backup, quick sewage cleanup is crucial. Proper safety measures are important and can be performed by restoration experts.