When your home is exposed to black water either through sewage backup, toilet backup, or sewer leak, special measures are required. This type of water damage is considered as category 3, black water damage.
Unlike clean water, sewage damage is a biohazard “grossly contaminated and can contain pathogenic, toxigenic or other harmful agents”. Any sewage damage on carpet, hardwood floor, tile or even at the crawl space should be cleaned as soon as possible in order to prevent cross contamination of bacteria and viruses such as E-coli to other unaffected areas and reduce health risks.
According to the IICRC S500 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration, sewage clean up should be done only by experienced and trained technicians equipped by full protective suits, gloves, masks and using special machines such as air scrubbers and dehumidifier.
The restorer must remove and dispose of any affected material such as drywall, insulation, carpet and pad. By simply drying these materials and leaving them in place can result in harmful agents being left in the area.
SWIFT Restoration, using state of the art equipment and professional technicians, will provide you with a complete clean up procedure for any scale of sewage damage, small or disaster. Our technicians experienced many different category 3, black water cleanups, sewage lines and toilet overflows, in residential and commercial properties, throughout the entire San Francisco, Bay Area.
What To Do If You Have Sewage Backup or leak
If you suffer a sewage backup, toilet backup, or sewer leak, in either your home, office, residential or commercial property, the most important issue that needs to be taken into consideration is safety. Move pets, babies, and anyone who is sick or may have a weak immune system to a safe area, far away from any raw sewage.
Our procedure in most sewage damage restoration will include:
. Assessment of the affected areas and materials
. Planning a course of action with the property owner/ manager
. Water and sewage extraction and removal
. Removal and disposal of non-salvageable materials
. Clean-up and sanitizing
. Using of drying and cleaning equipment such as air scrubbers and dehumidifiers
. Daily moisture inspection and monitoring
. Detailed report and certificate of the sewage damage remediation service