Sewage Cleanup

A sewage backup is different from a burst pipe. The water carries human waste and everything else that goes down a drain, and it contaminates whatever it soaks into. That changes both the safety precautions and how much material has to come out of the home.

Health risks in plain terms

Sewage contains bacteria, viruses and parasites that can make people sick. The CDC notes that floodwater can contain sewage, that eating or drinking anything contaminated by it can cause diarrheal illnesses such as E. coli and Salmonella infections, and that open wounds exposed to it can become infected.

In practical terms:

• Keep children and pets out of the affected area until cleanup is finished.
• Do not touch sewage or soaked materials with bare hands, and wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after any contact.
• Keep cuts and scrapes away from the water, or cover them with waterproof bandages.
• Throw away food, toys and other items that were touched by sewage and cannot be disinfected.

What not to do

A few common reactions make a sewage backup worse.

Do not run household fans. A box fan or ceiling fan blows across contaminated surfaces and moves droplets and odors through the home. Drying equipment is used only after the waste and contaminated materials have been removed and surfaces are cleaned.

Do not try to save soaked carpet or pad. Carpet pad acts like a sponge for waste. Shampooing or steam cleaning the surface does not reach what is underneath.

Do not keep using the plumbing. If the backup came from the main line, every flush and every load of laundry pushes more water toward the same blockage.

Do not mix cleaning chemicals. Bleach combined with ammonia-based cleaners releases toxic fumes.

Common causes of sewage backups

Most household backups come down to a few causes:

• Tree roots growing into joints and cracks in older underground lines.
• Grease and wipes building up inside pipes until they block flow.
• Aging cast-iron drain lines, found in many older homes and buildings, which corrode and scale inside over time and can crack.
• Heavy rain overwhelming municipal sewer systems or saturating the ground around septic drain fields, which pushes water back toward the house.
• Septic systems that are overdue for pumping or have a failing drain field.

In a condo or apartment building, a blockage in a shared stack can push sewage out of drains in lower units even though the blockage is somewhere else in the building.

What professional cleanup involves

Sewage cleanup starts with protective equipment: gloves, rubber boots, eye protection and respirators. The work area is closed off, standing waste water is extracted, and then removal begins.

Anything porous that sewage touched usually comes out. That includes carpet and pad, the lower section of drywall along with the insulation behind it, upholstered furniture and particleboard cabinet bases. Hard materials such as tile, concrete, wall studs and metal fixtures are cleaned to remove residue, then disinfected.

Only after cleaning does drying start. Dehumidifiers and air movers bring the remaining structure back to normal moisture levels, which also matters for preventing mold growth in the wall cavities that were opened. Before anything is rebuilt, surfaces are checked to confirm they are clean and dry.

Belongings touched by sewage

Contents follow the same logic as the building. Items with hard, non-porous surfaces, such as metal furniture, glass, sealed plastic and ceramic, can usually be cleaned and disinfected. Upholstered furniture, mattresses, rugs, stuffed toys, paper and cardboard that soaked up sewage are generally not worth trying to save. Clothing and washable fabrics are a judgment call based on how contaminated they are and what they are worth.

Before anything is thrown away, photograph it. A simple list of damaged items, made while the details are fresh, is far easier than trying to remember everything weeks later.

The plumbing problem still has to be fixed

Cleanup deals with the damage, not the cause. A plumber needs to clear the blockage and repair the line, or a septic contractor needs to service the system, before the home is put back together. A camera inspection of the drain line is a common way to find roots, breaks or a collapsed section. Rebuilding before the cause is fixed risks paying for the same cleanup twice.

If the backup came in with storm water from outside, the job overlaps with flood cleanup. For clean water leaks, see water damage restoration.