There can be times before sewage reaches a wastewater treatment facility where it spills or leaks onto public property or work sites. These incidents are hazardous due to the bacteria and viruses present, so they require professional teams of cleaners to ensure a proper clean-up operation.

When you experience a sewage spill, you can turn to ICE Cleaning’s team of sewage spillage specialists to effectively contain a spill outdoors or indoors. Its cleaners restore your property to its original state and make it safe to inhabit again.

Read on to learn more about sewage spills and how it is cleaned.

How do sewage spills occur?

Sewage spills or exposures are sometimes due to human error if they have occurred at home or on private property. When it is the responsibility of a water company, it will be their job to conduct or pay for the cleaning process. 

However, if a spill occurred due to your negligence, you are liable. If you have experienced a sewage spill at home, this has likely occurred due to one or a few of the following:

• • Clogged pipes due to toilet paper, soap scum, grease, oils, etc.
  • Poor maintenance of pipes
  • Heavy rainfall or flooding
  • Tree roots damaging pipe systems

• Septic tank leak or damage

What are the risks of sewage exposure?

Because sewage bacteria can last from days to months on surfaces in certain environments, it is integral that in the event of a spill, you always keep your distance. Inhaling, touching, or ingesting the sewage could quickly result in you or somebody else contracting an illness.

If the spill occurred indoors, you should keep all doors and windows open — where possible — to allow any contaminated air to escape. If it happened outside, remain indoors, and do not attempt to clean it yourself. Encountering sewage could lead to you experiencing:

• Stomach gastroenteritis
• Skin infections
• Ear infections
• Conjunctivitis 
• Sore throat
• Chest infections
• Hepatitis A
• E. coli

How is sewage cleaned up?

When you contact a sewage cleaning company, they arrive promptly with PPE and respiratory equipment. Every company will have their own array of tools and solutions to contain and clean a spill, but it usually follows a routine that includes:

• Assessing the site to identify any health and safety hazards
• Detecting any other contaminants present (e.g., mould)
• Restricting access to the area and ensuring all non-workers have left
• Disposing of all sewage-contaminated objects or dry them out in a non-infected area
• Removing all waste to a sewage treatment facility
• Opening all doors and windows if indoors
• Extracting excess water with pumps, wet vacuums, or mops
• Washing all affected surfaces with a specialised chemical solution
• Drying the area out thoroughly with dehumidifiers and industrial drying equipment

The procedure may differ depending on where the spill occurred, but each operation intends to reach the goal of decontaminating an area completely. Upon conclusion of the job, the property must be safe to re-enter and live inside again when sewage cleaners leave the site.

If you require the services of a sewage spillage clean-up company, you can turn to the team of experts at ICE Cleaning. Its professional cleaners contain, clean, and decontaminate a spill regardless of size or impact. 

If you want to learn more about ICE Cleaning’s services, you can look at their website here.