WHAT IS SEWAGE?

“Sewage” is the wastewater that comes from the drains of your house.  This includes your toilets, showers, sinks, dishwasher, and washing machine.  This water has contaminants that normally flow away from your house and into a sewer system.  Eventually, this water would end up at your local sewage treatment facility.

Unfortunately, when a drain line breaks, this sewage can find its way into your living space causing bad smells and can make your home unclean while it is present.  This is why it’s important that you get the sewage cleaned up quickly and properly.

Many times sewage damage occurs when a combined storm sewer system is overflowed because of a heavy rainfall.  This occurs because the sewer drain lines and the stormwater systems are part of the same system and the path of least resistance can be back through the drain lines of homes connected to the system.  If a home or business is connected to a combined sewer/stormwater system it would be good to get proper drain backup insurance coverage on the property in case of a heavy rain.

Another common source of sewage damage are tree roots growing through main drain lines in the yard.  When the root penetrates the drain line it

GREENWOOD SANITATION DEPARTMENT

The Greenwood sanitation department manages Greenwood sanitation sewer system which consists of nearly 500 miles of sewer pipe that services approximately 24,000 Johnson County residents. 

If you need to report a backup or overflow, call the Greenwood sanitation field office 8 am to 4 pm at 317.888.1254.  If you need emergency service after hours call 317.649.2426.

To learn more about the Greenwood Sewer Utility.

DRAIN BACKUP INSURANCE COVERAGE

A homeowner’s insurance policy does cover emergency sewage cleanup services but sometimes there are limits associated with these services.  If a property has a drain backup in a basement for instance, some insurance policies may have a $5000 – $10,000 limit. 

Also, some insurance companies require drain backup coverage to be an additional writer on their policies and if the writer has not been added to the policy there may be no coverage for drain backup. 

SEWAGE WATER REMOVAL

If you are experiencing a sewage backup in a basement, most likely you have a large amount of sewage water that needs to be removed.  Because of the contaminants and odors, this requires us to use personal protective equipment, such as full faced respirators and nylon protective suits.

We also have a piece of equipment to properly remove sewage water.  This equipment has a large vacuum unit that is attached to a 300 gallon tank.  The vacuum provides the suction required to remove the water from the basement and then the water is stored in the tank during the cleanup process.

After the majority of the sewage water is removed from the basement, we will continue to dilute and wash the area with water.

When all of the water and contaminants are removed, we are ready to sanitize the affected areas.

BUILDING MATERIAL REMOVALS

When sewage damage affects the interior of the property, all the porous finished surfaces are removed because of the category 3 water. 

This includes removing affected carpet and pad, baseboards, drywall, laminate flooring, cabinets, bathroom vanities etc.  These are common building materials that are removed and replaced during a sewage damage cleanup.

The IICRC provides the S500 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration to guide restorers on the materials that should be removed during a category 3 water loss.   

SANITIZING SEWAGE DAMAGE

We use a product called Benefect to sanitize the surfaces that have been affected by sewage.

Benefect is a broad-spectrum disinfectant and it surpasses all of the governments germ killing requirements for hospital disinfectants.  The other great benefit of using Benefect is that it has the lowest toxicity level compared to other disinfectant products.

Benefect is a made using plant based essential oils.  These essential oils help plants protect themselves from invading microbes, much like the human body produces antibodies to protect itself.  Therefore, Benefect, is like a plant immune system in a bottle.

We will apply this product to all the affected areas after the large contaminants and water are removed.

DRYING AFTER SEWAGE REMOVAL

After all of the sewage is removed from the affected area and all the surfaces have been sanitized, the structure now has to be dried back to its original moisture content.

Now, the job becomes a water damage restoration or water mitigation.  First, all of the porous building materials that we affected with sewage would be removed.  This includes carpet, pad, drywall, baseboards etc.  The living space would be stripped down to its structural members.

Then we will set up water damage equipment, to dry the structure so there will be no risk of mold damage.

CRAWL SPACE SEWAGE CLEANUP

Crawl spaces are very susceptible to sewage damage because the drain lines for the home typically run through this area.  When there is an issue with waste water drains, the sewage water tend to find its way into the crawl space.  Another issue that arises, is most people do not notice there is an issue until they begin to smell the bad odors.

So when the home owner discovers there is a problem, there is usually a good size pool of sewage water in their crawl space.  It takes a lot of effort to cleanup sewage in a crawl space.  Crawl spaces typically do not have a lot of room to maneuver, which can make removing the sewage difficult.

We will start the process by removing the vapor barrier, which will bring out a lot of solids that were dumped into the crawl space.  Next, we will begin removing the sewage water that is left behind.  After, the water is removed we will begin to remove some of the containment soil that has been affected by the sewage.  We will also apply hydrated lime to the soil to decontaminate it.  Hydrated lime is an essential product used in many waste water treatment processes.

If the sewage water caused the wooden structure in the crawlspace to absorb moisture, then we would set drying equipment for 3 days to dry out the crawlspace before applying hydrated lime and re-installing the vapor barrier.

Cost of Sewage Cleanup

For a significant sewage cleanup, you are looking at a cost between $5,000 – $8,000 dollars.  This would be a grossly contaminated crawlspace or basement.  If a home-owner is having one of these situations, we would recommend an insurance claim and to use a professional water damage restoration company.

What if you have a small amount sewage damage from a toilet overflow or a small drain backup?

The cost would be significantly lower.

The cost would range between $1,000 – $2,000 dollars depending on the severity.  Sometimes these situations don’t justify having a professional restoration company to be involved, but it does require someone to do the dirty work of cleaning up sewage.