Your drain is backed up and your basement is full of sewage – the scenario of every homeowner’s worst nightmare.
Having sewage in your basement can cause a whole lot of different problems, not to mention the time and money you will be spending on solving the problem. First, you have to find out what caused the sewage back up and solve that problem before you start to take care of the cleanup.
Basement Clean Up
Cleaning up a basement that is full of sewage is not for the faint of heart, and frankly, it is a job that should only be done by professionals who have the expertise, experience and very importantly the equipment needed to get the job done.
As a first step make sure that any water, gas and electric lines in the basement have been turned off. Basements usually don’t have many windows but you should open every door and window you can to help ventilate the room and allow the air to circulate as much as possible.
Clear out the basement. Take everything you can outside. The furniture and large items should be left outside, if possible to air out and be cleaned later and small items, such as toys, clothes or books should be thrown out, as they cannot be cleaned the property and it will be hazardous to use them later.
If you call a professional sewage restoration company they will carry out these steps for you.
Before you can start to clean out the basement all the raw sewage must be removed. Professional restoration companies have the equipment to pump the water out of the basement. Once the sewage has been removed the area must be completely dried, to prevent mold from growing and then the basement must be sanitized and disinfected and the large items, like furniture, must also be disinfected before they are returned to the basement.
Your Safety And Health
One of the main reasons we believe that in situations such as these it’s important to leave the job up to the professionals is the safety and health aspect.
The sewage in your basement is full of contaminants and bacteria which are a very serious health risk. Professional restoration experts will arrive prepared for this type of work, wearing the protective clothing that is necessary when working in these conditions, including work clothes, boots, rubber gloves, and protective masks so they do not come into contact with or breathe in any of the dangerous bacteria, viruses and any other toxic substance, including pesticides, that are found in the sewage water.
The house will also smell bad and part of the restoration workers’ job is to help with this too.