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What to do When there is Sewage in your Morris County Basement
8/8/2016 (Permalink)
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What to do when there is sewage in your basement
A sewer backing up, or contaminated water backing out of your tub, sink or toilet can be an absolute nightmare for Morris County homeowners. The truth is you can’t (and shouldn’t) do very much; sewage contaminated water is dangerous to your health and should be avoided at all costs. If you have water backing up out of toilet, sink or bathtub in your Morris County home, then follow these steps and call SERVPRO of East Central Morris County.
Your Game Plan
-Stay out of the area/avoid cross contamination
-Determine the source
-Arrange repair and cleanup services
-Call your Insurance Company
Keep Children and Pets away from sewer-water affected areas
Keep children and pets away the moment the sewer water is discovered, until the clean-up crew and sanitation is complete. Sewage is considered Category 3 water, more commonly known as black water. Category 3 water or Black water is defined by the IICRC as “the worst classification and is grossly unsanitary. It could cause severe illness or death if ingested. It used to be called black water, and sources include sewer backup, flooding from rivers or streams, toilet overflow with feces, and stagnant liquid that has begun to support bacterial growth.” Keep children and pets away at all times and if you yourself must go in the area, wash your hands thoroughly and avoid touching cuts, eyes, mouth or ears with your hands or any item that came in contact with the black water.
Risks of Sewage back up debris
Category 3 water/Raw sewage contains Diseases such as Hepatitis, Salmonella, E.Coli and Parasites just to name a few, would you risk cleaning this yourself without proper training or the tools and chemicals to do it correctly? These disease survive weeks even months if not properly killed. Doing it yourself, or hiring the wrong professional puts you, your family, pets and house guests at a great risk. Call SERVPRO to schedule emergency service to have the job taken care of like it never even happened.
Determine whether the waste is local (as in, from your own home) or from the sewer system also known as “backflow”
Determine the source of the sewage backup – if entering the area seems like it would be dangerous to your health (no proper protective equipment) then just skip on down to arrange services. IF you are able to do some inspecting, then determine the source by the amount and the flow rate. A Local waste product would be from a blockage, tree roots affecting plumbing lines or broken or collapsed lines on your property, this waste would be from your own home but is still considered a category 3. Backflow is when the sewer system in your neighborhood or municipality is overwhelmed, and it reverses in your pipes, causing it to erupt from toilets, sinks and tubs. This waste product is waste from all your neighbors and nearby buildings pouring into your home. This can happen from heavy rainflow overwhelming your municipality’s sewer system, causing it to backflow into your home. Regardless of the way it came in, the sewage needs to be immediately removed and sanitation needs to begin as soon as possible to reduce cost of clean up and more importantly minimize health risks.
Arrange Services with SERVPRO
Call an Emergency Restoration company such as SERVPRO as we are IICRC Certified and specialize in cleaning up hazardous waste. Most contractors and plumbers do not have the capability to clean up the site after the repairs have been made, or at the very least inadequate equipment – and may not be approved by your insurance company if you choose to claim the loss.
SERVPRO also has a 1-4-8 policy, which means within 1 hour from notice of loss (When you call), a SERVPRO professional will contact you to arrange services. Within 4 hours of notice of loss, a SERVPRO professional will be onside to start mitigating services. Within 8 business hours, a verbal briefing of the scope will be communicated to your adjuster by a SERVPRO Professional. If any SERVPRO believes they are incapable of responding within this time frame, they will refer you to a SERVPRO who can so you are not left waiting!
Call your insurance company
Ask your agent if this is a covered loss, and what your deductible will be. This can be done before or after calling SERVPRO as we accept all insurance plans and you can also pay yourself – whether you are covered or not, this will not affect your ability to receive service.
What to do while the Crew is at work
Once the services have been arranged, and the SERVPRO crew is at work, do your best to keep all equipment running, still keep children out of the area as well as pets and do not be afraid to ask questions. While your plumber is there ask if there are ways to prevent a Sewage back up or back flow from happening again and ask him about installing a Backflow valve.