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Fire & Water - Cleanup & Restoration

Why Professionals Should Handle Sewage Cleanup

8/15/2016 (Permalink)

If you suffer from flooding or a broken pipe in your home, the result could be the release of sewage. While any type of water damage in dangerous to your home and your health, the release of sewage is even more dangerous requiring immediate action. With the existence of unsanitary water in your home comes the possibility of the contracting bacteria and viruses that could result in serious illness. If this is a problem in your home, professionals should be called to handle the situation as they have the special training and equipment necessary to clean that type of contamination.

Types of Contaminated Water

There are three types of contaminated water that may exist as a result of water damage; category one, category two, and category three.

Category One – Clean Water

Category one, known as clean water, is water damage resulting from water that comes from a clean source such as a broken clean water supply line or a faucet. If this type of water damage is left untreated, it has the potential to turn into the more dangerous categories of two or three. The factors that must be taken into account as it pertains to the severity of the water damage includes time, temperature, and whether it has come into contact with contaminants.

Category Two – Gray Water

Category two, known as gray water, is water damage that has a large amount of contamination. This type of water damage has the possibility of causing discomfort or illness should it be ingested. Sources that could release gray water include washing machine overflow, toilet overflow with some urine but no feces, and dishwasher overflow.

Category Three – Black Water

Category three, known as black water, is very unsanitary with the potential to cause severe illness or death if it’s ingested. Any contact with this type of contaminated water should be avoided at all costs. Sources of this type of water include flooding from rivers or streams, water that comes from beyond the toilet trap, toilet overflow with feces, and standing water that has begun to support microbial growth.

Depending on what type of water damage you have, the water could range from relatively harmless to extremely dangerous. To ensure that you remain safe regardless of what type of water damage you have, it’s important to hire professionals to handle the cleanup and restoration. The following are some reasons why only professionals should handle the cleanup of sewage.

Safety

Safety should always be the top priority when dealing with dangerous materials such as sewage. To avoid potential safety problems, you should never deal with sewage yourself but call professionals to perform the cleanup. Raw sewage has the potential to produce and spread a variety of dangerous germs and bacteria that could create illness and, if serious enough, potentially death. Those who are pregnant, elderly, or have a weakened immune system are more susceptible to these viruses.

Professionals have the training and experience to follow the appropriate safety protocols to ensure a safe and proper cleanup. This involves the wearing of protective gear that is specifically designed to protect from diseases such as those potentially spread by raw sewage.

Quick Cleanup

When dealing with sewage, it’s important to have it cleaned up as soon as possible because the longer that you allow sewage to remain, the worse it will get. Relatively clean water can turn into a hazard in little time. Seemingly harmless water damage can turn into a serious problem in as soon as 12 to 24 hours. Most people don’t have the time or capability to clean up water damage in that short period of time. A professional crew can arrive in a few hours to begin the cleanup.

Additional Problems

While a water damage or sewage cleanup does involve cleaning up dirt and waste, it’s more than that. The cleanup could also involve cleaning up mold biohazard and broken plumbing or a septic tank. Most people don’t know how to clean up these things but professionals do. They also will be able to inform you on which of your possessions are able to be safely cleaned or restored.

Due to its ability to get significantly worse in a short period of time, water damage should be cleaned up quickly. That’s even more so if raw sewage is involved through flooding or a broken pipe. For the safety of you and your family, it’s important to leave the cleanup of sewage to professionals that are specifically trained for such occasions. If you have a release of sewage in your home, call on the trusted professionals at SERVPRO to restore your home.

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