Why You Need a Restoration Professional for Sewage Cleanup

A sewer backup is a nightmare scenario. Thick, black sludge starts pushing up through one or more of your drains, and as it keeps rising, you have no idea where it is going to stop. The slimy liquid can fill your bathtub and toilet, then begin overflowing onto the floor. Your bathroom can turn into a stinking pool, and if you’re unlucky drains in other rooms, such as the kitchen sink, might start to overflow.

When this happens, you need professional help to deal with the resulting damage. Many standard cleaning companies won’t take the job and taking it on yourself can expose you to potentially serious health risks. You need someone who can deal with sewage cleanup and the resulting water damage to make sure your home is sanitary, stable, and safe. Restoration professionals should be your choice to handle the situation. They can deal with every aspect of the cleanup and return your property to its original condition.

Regular Cleaning Companies Won’t Take the Job

Sewage cleanup is not a regular cleaning job, and as a result, many regular cleaning companies won’t take it. They know that their typical cleaning approach works well for dirt that’s on the surface but won’t address the sewage that seeps into the floor and walls.

In addition, they know that their workers don’t have the level of safety gear recommended for dealing with sewage. They are prepared to handle household spills and normal waste, but sewage is something more dangerous.

Serious Health Risks of Sewage

You might think that cleaning sewage is no more dangerous than cleaning a toilet, but you should approach sewage with more caution because it is:

• Mixed
• Aged
• Contaminated

The waste that comes from your body largely contains biohazards that your body knows how to deal with. The bacteria in your waste is bacteria that you have been exposed to. Even if multiple unrelated people in a household are using a toilet, living in the same household has caused their bacteria to homogenize to some extent. Your body has likely developed – or is developing – antibodies to any viruses already in your system. However, once waste enters the sewers, it mixes with waste from numerous households, which increases the risk that you will be exposed to novel bacteria, viruses, and parasites that are more likely to make you seriously ill.

Another problem with sewage is that it’s had time for more hazardous microorganisms and parasites to develop. While it’s a myth that urine is initially sterile, the level of microorganisms in both urine and feces is controlled in a healthy person. However, once these materials leave your body, harmful microorganisms, including both bacteria and fungi, can multiply. In addition, the waste is exposed to parasites that can spend part of their lifecycle in water or soil, and these can grow and become a more serious infection risk.

Finally, sewage includes more than just human waste. Although large industrial operations have to clean up their waste before it leaves their property, smaller industrial operations may add toxic chemicals and heavy metals to their waste. Your neighbors may also not be careful about what they dispose of down their toilet, including dangerous chemicals and drugs.

For these reasons, when dealing with sewage, you need all appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and should take adequate precautions to avoid contamination.

There Is Likely More Damage Than You Can See

When you look at your walls, it might seem as if there is a good seal between the baseboard and the floor as well as between the wall and the baseboard, but this is typically deceptive. There’s often plenty of space for sewage to seep under the baseboard and into the walls. Even in bathrooms where there is a plastic baseboard, this may not be well-sealed to stop the progress of water.

As a result, sewage will often penetrate the wall, and once it’s in there, you may have no idea where it is going. It may soak into drywall, insulation, and even the structural supports like studs and joists. It will both flow downward to lower floors or crawlspace and wick upward with the potential to thoroughly contaminate the space behind the walls.

Restoration professionals understand the complex dynamics of how water and sewage can travel through a home. They know where to look for potential contamination, and how to be sure they have identified all likely damage.

Damage Will Worsen If Not Properly Treated

Another problem with sewage and water damage is that it will worsen over time if not properly treated.

The immediate damage from sewage and water exposure is only part of the problem. Although drywall will swell, blister, and weaken immediately, other parts of your home may not develop visible problems at once. Your wood structure, for example, may swell when wet, but it won’t fully weaken at first. However, over time microorganisms will develop in the wood, breaking down its structure and weakening it. This damage will start within a few days, but it might take weeks or even months to reach its full level. In addition to weakening the structure of your building, water encourages the growth of potentially toxic mold.

To avoid this long-term damage, it’s important to make sure that any place exposed to water is thoroughly dried as quickly as possible after exposure. It’s not enough to wipe away the water and test whether a surface “feels dry.” You need to be able to measure the moisture levels in the air and on surfaces to determine whether you have successfully dried an area. Restoration professionals have the tools to measure moisture and to fully dry areas exposed to sewage.

Why Choose Dayspring Restoration in Montana

When you need sewage cleanup in Montana, choose Dayspring Restoration. We’ve been the leading restoration provider in the area since 1989, and we can provide 24/7 emergency response services from our seven local locations in Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Hamilton, Helena, Kalispell, and Missoula. When you call us, we will rush out and arrive ready to begin work immediately.

We can handle every aspect of the sewage cleanup, from the initial response to drying within the walls, tearing out and replacing contaminated drywall, and the final finishing work that will ensure no one will be able to see any sign of damage. We will also coordinate with your insurance company to make your claims process as smooth as possible. We know what documentation your insurance company needs, so we will document the initial damage and all the repairs. This will ensure your insurance company has all the information to pay your claim promptly and in full based on the level of your coverage.

To get Dayspring Restoration out to handle the nightmare of sewage backup at your home or business, please Contact us today. We serve customers throughout Montana.