Sewage Backup Dangers

8/3/2022 (Permalink)

Clean up crew in a crawlspace filled with sewage.

Sewage backing up into a home or business can happen to anyone at any time. Many things can cause a sewage backup, from a pipe clogging to a flood overfilling a local sewer system. A sewage loss can seem like a relatively easy cleanup to handle by yourself, but it should not be handled by anyone other than professionals. Here are some of the reasons why a sewage backup can be dangerous.

Sewage Water Contains Diseases and Bacteria. 

To begin, we explain exactly what sewage is. Primarily, sewage is contaminated water containing waste of any type. Sewage is considered category 3 water damage and can contain anything as harmless as soap to more harmful things such as human or industrial waste. 

One of the more dangerous bacteria you can come in contact with in sewage backup is E. coli, also known as Escherichia coli. Normally found within the digressive tracts of humans and harmless when in that system, E. coli is extremely harmful outside of the intestines. According to the CDC, E. coli is one of the most common contaminants found in sewage. By being in contact with sewage you could also be exposed to the hepatitis A virus, as well as many highly contagious bacteria and viruses.

Diseases in Sewage are Easily Spread 

The diseases and bacteria found in sewage may seem avoidable, but this is often not the case. A common misconception regarding sewage is that you can only get sick from directly consuming the substance. However, many of the diseases and bacteria found in sewage backup can be transmitted in many ways outside of direct consumption.

Coming in contact with bacteria can be as easy as not properly cleaning your hands after touching sewage and then eating or drinking. Many may think of cleaning their hands before eating or drinking, but even smoking  when your hands are not properly cleaned is also an extremely easy way to be infected by bacteria and diseases.

The second most common way to be infected by bacteria is through skin contact. This could be forgetting about a cut on your leg and exposing that cut to sewage. A disease present in sewage may even spread quicker when given an easy entry to your body such as an unhealed cut. No matter how careful you may be when cleaning, you run the risk of infection when cleaning sewage yourself.

Sewage Causes Air-Borne Contamination. 

Not only is coming into physical contact with raw sewage a threat, but sewage can also contaminate the air around you. Inhaling the vapors emitted by raw sewage can lead to gastroenteritis, or even asthma. As sewage can release toxins or even infected dust, the risk for breathing in the toxins is very high. Once inhaled, the toxins can attack your upper respiratory system, causing asthma-like symptoms and shortness of breath. These fumes are often released into the air during the cleaning process, which is why it is especially important to hire a professional

Due to the sensitive nature of cleaning up a sewage loss, it is a much safer choice to leave the cleanup and restoration to the professionals. At SERVPRO of Blackwood/Gloucester Twp, we are trained to identify the dangers and health risks that a sewage backup can present, and we work to make your home or business look “Like it never even happened”.