This guide to sewage cleanup explains what to look for, how to protect access to affected areas, and what to discuss with a restoration professional.

Toilet and sewer line backups could result in sewage entering your basement or other areas of your home or company. This dark, thick water is highly hazardous and contains many dangerous contaminants. These contaminants are made up of pathogens, bacteria and viruses and cause health risks and illness dangers if humans or animals experience exposure. Repairing these problems ASAP is highly important, as is getting rid of the sewage from your home or business.

Having information 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 help prevent sewage backups that could occur in your home or business:

Why Sewage Cleanup May Be Needed After a Backup

Considerable Rainfall – Excess flooding can overpower your town or city’s storm sewer system. If this happens, the waste can back up into the attached sewer lines bringing your home or business in possible risk of water backflow. Growing rivers and streams, hurricanes and other relevant events can force flood and sewage waters to blend and present genuine health related dangers. You should be highly cautious when walking in this sort of water, and even stay vigilant after the water recedes and dries up. It’s probable for the organic matter to be aerosolized and able to be inhaled, meaning there’s a chance you could inhale it into your lungs. To protect from contact or risk of breathing in these contaminants, legitimate PPE should be used at all times.
Tree Roots – Trees can have strong roots that grow into water or sewer pipes and crush or impair them. Damage to pipes and a sewage backup can also be caused 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 pipes that lead to the central sewer line or septic system.
Old/Aging Sewer Pipes – Older and aging sewage structures are susceptible to breaking down and cracking, causing sewer backups, flooded basements as well as entire home flooding. The older your region or home may raise the threat of this type of catastrophe occurring.
Clogged and Blocked Drain Pipes – If your home or business’s main sewer line or drain pipes become clogged, sewage may back up inside the dwelling. A fine example is: if a single toilet causes a sewage blockage, the lines connected to that toilet, or the main drain pipes of more toilets, will also suffer backflow flooding.

Old and/or Damaged Lines – Older sewage systems have a propensity to suffer damage and crumble, leading to sewer water influx and flooded dwellings full of sewage. If your home or region is older, the likelihood is greater that you’ll experience impaired sewer lines than newer ones.
Copious Rainfall – Heavy and sudden downpours can defeat your local storm sewer lines rapidly. If these public sewer mains can’t deal with excess downpours, water can backup and progress into connected sewer lines. This can put your home or business at risk of backflow problems. Area flood waters from events like surging rivers and creeks, hurricanes, or any similar weather events can cause clean water to blend with sewage water and other chemicals and contaminants that cause serious health consequences. Use extreme carefulness when moving on foot in this type of waste, but also stay cautious once it dries. The dried organic matter can turn aerosolized and turn respirable. Correct PPE needs to be used at all times to prevent contact and risk inhaling polluted air.
Blocked/Clogged Pipes – A fouled pipe or sewer line can force sewage to back up into your home or business. If only one toilet becomes blocked, the sewer water backup can spread on to the sewer pipes and influence all linked toilets on that line.
Roots from Trees – Tree roots can cause damage to water and sewer pipes. The roots from huge trees can maneuver into and around the pipes and damage them tremendously. If the roots under your property are not the problem, roots from nearby trees can extend under property lines and harm your sewer line, causing a sewage problem. Be super aware of all tree roots that could affect your mainline sewer pipes and/or pipes that run to your septic tank.

Our Chicago, IL sewage cleanup and sanitation process

The PuroClean method for cleaning and restoring Category 3 water, which is sewer and tainted water backup cleaning and restoration identified by IICRC industry standards, consisting of:

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

2. Valuation of the work place along with health and safety surveys.

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

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

4. Implement established engineering controls, critical barriers, to stop cross-contamination.

5. Eliminating any and all lingering safety risks if possible.

6. Bulk water, soil, and contaminates removal

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:

Gypsum board (drywall)
Carpet, rugs, pad, and/or subflooring
Vinyl flooring and underlayment
Hardwood flooring
Padded and upholstered objects

8. Cleaning procedures implemented, as well as the use of EPA registered biocides and antimicrobials

9. Manual cleaning of all remaining structure items

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

11. All materials touched by water to be dried and returned to pre-loss standard

12. All equipment used on the project to be cleaned after restoration completion

13. Disposal of all demolished materials removed from the site

Call PuroClean for your Professional Chicago, IL Sewage Cleanup Needs!

Our technicians utilize state-of-the-art equipment and cleaning procedures to effectively restore and clean the damaged building materials and items from your house 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 methods and our specialists are top quality, efficient, and work with care and empathy for all involved. PuroClean is your ideal damage restoration and cleaning professionals and we pledge to do whatever needs to happen to save and restore all properties in the communities we serve.

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

For background on restoration training and industry standards, visit the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification. Project methods should be selected for the actual conditions found during assessment.

For help with your property, contact PuroClean Disaster Mitigation at (708) 708-7876 to discuss the next assessment step.