Toilet and sewer line backups can result in sewage entering your basement or other areas of your home or company. This dark, thick water is highly hazardous and contains quite a lot of dangerous contaminants. These contaminants consist of pathogens, bacteria and viruses and present health risks and illness dangers if humans or animals become exposed. Repairing these problems ASAP is highly important, as is getting rid of the sewage from your property. Having knowledge of what may lead to sewer backups may help you avoid a hazardous situation in your home or basement. Following is a list of things that may aid in stopping sewage backups that may occur in your home or business:

Causes of Sewage Backup

  • Heavy Rainfall – Excess flooding can overpower your town or city’s storm sewer mainlines. If this happens, the waste can expand into the attached sewer lines placing your home or business in possible compromise of water backflow. Swelling rivers and streams, hurricanes and other similar events can cause flood and sewage waters to mix and present genuine health related dangers. You should be highly cautious when wading in this type of water, and even stay watchful after the water recedes and dries up. It’s viable for the organic matter to become aerosolized and respirable, meaning there’s a chance you could breathe it into your lungs. To prevent contact or risk of inhaling these contaminants, proper PPE should be worn at all times.
  • Roots from Trees – Trees can have strong roots that grow into water or sewer lines and crush or damage them. Damage to pipes and a sewage backup can also be induced by tree roots that aren’t even on your premises. Be acutely aware of any tree roots that can sprawl into your water and sewer lines that lead to the central sewer line or septic system.
  • Old/Aging Sewer Lines – Older and aging sewage structures are susceptible to crumbling and cracking, inducing sewer backups, sewer filled basements as well as entire home flooding. The older your neighborhood or home may raise the threat of this type of catastrophe occurring.
  • Clogged and Blocked Drain Pipes – If your house or business’s main sewer pipes or drain pipes become fouled, sewage may back up inside the dwelling. A fine example is: if a single toilet causes a sewage blockage, the adjacent pipes connected to that toilet, or the main drain lines of more toilets, will also suffer backflow flooding.
  • Old and/or Damaged Lines – Aging sewage systems have a propensity to suffer damage and crack, leading to sewer water influx and flooded dwellings full of sewage. If your home or neighborhood is older, the chance is greater that you’ll experience impaired sewer lines than newer ones.
  • Copious Rainfall – Heavy and rapid rainfall can overpower your local storm sewer lines rapidly. If these public sewer mains can’t deal with excess waters, water can backup and flow into connected sewer lines. This can put your dwelling at risk of backflow problems. Regional flood waters from events like rising rivers and creeks, hurricanes, or any rainy weather events can cause clean water to merge with sewage water and other chemicals and contaminants that cause serious health problems. Use extreme caution when wading in this type of waste, but also remain cautious when it dries. The dried organic matter can turn aerosolized and turn respirable. Correct PPE needs to be worn at all times to prevent contact and risk inhaling tainted air.
  • Blocked/Clogged Pipes – A fouled pipe or sewer line can cause sewage to back up into your dwelling or business. If only one toilet becomes fouled, the sewage backup can spread on to the sewer lines and influence all linked toilets on that line.
  • Tree Roots – Tree roots can cause damage to water and sewer lines. The roots from large trees can grow into and around the lines and damage them excessively. If the roots on your property are not the culprit, roots from closely located trees can grow under property lines and damage your sewer pipes, causing a sewage problem. Be extra aware of all tree roots that could affect your mainline sewer pipes and/or pipes connected to your septic tank.

Our Massapequa, NY sewage cleanup and sanitation process

Our cleaning and remediation procedures for Category 3 water (which describes sewer and contaminated water backup) according to the standards put in place by the IICRC industry are:

1. Ensuring safety for all employees and occupants by placing restrictions on site access to remediation personnel only in order to prevent health related occurrences.

2. Health & safety survey and complete building assessment.

3. Ensure all restoration employees are supplied with and use the correct personal protection equipment (PPE). This includes, but isn’t limited to the following:

  • Rubber boots with steel toes and shank
  • Full-face respirator
  • Full body suit coverage
  • Nitrile and cut resistant gloves

4. Put engineering controls in place, as well as critical barriers if needed to stop any cross-contamination from occurring.

5. Eradicating any type of potential safety risks if at all possible.

6. Clearing the jobsite of all bulk water, soil, and contaminates.

7. Remove and dispose of all contaminated porous and semi-porous materials that are not able to be restored, which could include but is not limited to:

  • Carpet, rugs, pad, or underlayment
  • Gypsum board (Drywall)
  • Hardwood flooring
  • Vinyl flooring and underlayment
  • Padded and upholstered items

8. Implement cleaning methods and use of EPA approved biocides and antimicrobials

9. Physical cleaning of all remaining structure items

10. We recommend using a third-party Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) to perform clearance testing to ensure the site is returned to a sanitary pre-loss condition for health and safety.

11. All materials affected by the flooding to be dried and returned to pre-loss dry conditions

12. Post restoration cleaning of all tools and machinery used

13. All materials from demolition work removed completely

For Professional Sewage Cleanup in Massapequa, NY, Call PuroClean!

Our technicians utilize state-of-the-art equipment and cleaning methods to effectively restore and clean the damaged building materials and items from your dwelling or business. If a sewage drain line backup from blockage is your problem, call our professionals for sewage removal and cleaning services.

PuroClean has proved time after time that our work and our specialists are top quality, efficient, and work with care and kindness for all involved. PuroClean is your ideal damage restoration and cleaning specialists and we pledge to do whatever needs to take place to save and restore all homes and businesses in the communities we serve.

*Not all PuroClean offices offer sewage cleanup and sanitation cleaning services.

Sal is a professional and wonderful to communicate with. He is diligent and punctual. We had a bad mold contamination in our playroom and now it’s free of mold. My wife and I stressed a lot over [...]

MICHAEL B.
Seaford, NY

Sal went above and beyond. He made a very stressful situation more manageable. He is honest, compassionate, and reliable and completed the job ahead of schedule. He exceeded my expectations and I [...]

DEB R. DIX HILLS, NY

FAQ

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Bloodborne pathogens (BBPs), as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), means pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens [...]

What is Biohazard?

Biohazards are any biological contaminants such as those found in sewage, mold, or any viral or bacterial contamination such as MRSA. Biohazards also include toxins found in decaying organisms, as well as [...]

What does BBP mean?

Bloodborne pathogens (BBPs), as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), means pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens [...]