5 Damage Control Actions You Should Take After a Sewage Spill
Having a sewage spill or backup on your property can be a very disturbing experience to undergo. Such an occurrence catches most people off-guard, and they do not know the first steps they should take to limit the damage caused by that spill. This article discusses five important actions that you should take in order to limit the damage resulting from a sewage spill or backup.
Turn Off the Electrical Power Supply
A sewage spill within your home can cause much more damage than the odors and flooding. The wastewater can cause an electrical hazard if it gets into contact with electrical cables or appliances. That is why you should go to the power mains and cut off the power supply to the affected area.
Turn Off the Water Supply
A backed up sewage system has been strained beyond its capacity, so it is counterproductive to keep adding more water into that overwhelmed sewage system. Stop flushing toilets and turn off all other appliances that use water (such as the dishwasher). You can even turn off the water supply to your home so that the water from the municipal supply does not contribute to flooding your home in case the problem was connected to a burst water pipe that affected the wastewater removal system. For instance, a burst pipe may have caused a drain in a bathroom to burst due to the large volume of water that was getting into it.
Open Up the Home
You should also open all the windows and doors if the weather permits you to take this step. This action will help to limit the amount of humidity that accumulates inside the home. Humidity can promote the growth of mould and mildew, so any action you take to slow down this process will reduce the risks of a mould and mildew problem.
Safeguard Uncontaminated Areas
It may be easy to forget this precaution when a sewage spill occurs in the home. You may walk back and forth from the flooded areas of the home to other parts of the home. This can spread the contamination and increase your risk of contracting diseases or infections that spread through contact with fecal matter (such as cholera). Do not move contaminated items (such as carpets) to the parts of your home that were not affected by the sewage spill.
Call Professionals for Help
The sooner you get liquid waste removal professionals involved, the better. They have the skills and the equipment to help you to solve the root cause of the spill. Thus, your home will be restored to a usable state within a very short time and further damage (to the house foundation, for example) will be averted. Do not be tempted to attempt a DIY approach to this problem lest you worsen what has happened.
Keep the tips above in mind, and the sewage spill will soon be behind you.
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