Sewages are made to remove waste from your home, not introduce it back in, so when you are having such issues, it’s absolutely normal for you to be concerned. It’s quite common, especially in a city as old as San Francisco, to have issues come up from time to time.
There are a few things you should consider when you have sewage back up into your property. The most important thing is to stay away from it, because it contains quite a lot of toxins and waste.
What makes sewage waste so dangerous for humans?
Waste management has been quite a concern for a lot of civilizations, including the Romans, who were the first to heavily invest in sewage treatment and management. Nowadays, in our modern era, we are looking at the same issues, but at a different scale than before.
The biggest problem with sewage management is keeping up with the demands of a certain city, and in the case of The Golden City, it can be quite a challenge.
Human waste, food and decomposition processes take place down under, tucked away safely beneath. It’s a labyrinth of pipe networks. In that environment a lot of unspeakable things happen, fungi grows, bacteria cultures develop and entire populations of mice and vermin leave their mark.
Is there something I do if my toilet, sink or bathtub backs up?
Your first and immediate step should be to stay clear of this particular room. Toxic fumes may be coming out, which are a result of the decomposition of organic matter.
Your second step is to call your local sewage treatment plant or municipality and enquire if the issue you are experiencing is local or city-wide.
San Francisco has a lot going on for it, one of the things that is suffering is the aging sewage system, so it’s highly likely it may be a more global problem, rather than one in your particular property.
Make sure to turn off your HVAC to reduce the extent of noxious gasses throughout the property. The air passing around this area may carry microscopic bacterial cultures which can get into the air vents and ducts.
This is how professionals handle sewage back-ups!
Your last step should be to try and contain the back up and overflow. Yes, earlier in the text we mentioned that you should stay clean and you should.
Actions is necessary if the contamination is getting exponentially larger – if the overflow is going out of the door and down the hallway, you should at least put something in its path.
This way you will restrict it’s free flow and mitigate some of the damage and sewage clean-up which GCD Restoration will carry out.
Depending on the information of your correspondence with your local government, you should call a plumber and one of our sewage clean-up crews. The plumber will be required if the problem is local, and our team will be required either way because cleaning up sewage is a nasty deal.
Leave it to the professionals – we are equipped to handle it
After 10 years on the job, we’ve seen all kinds of messes and have pretty much witnessed it all. Sometimes sewage blockages occur due to the age of the plumbing installation, other times it’s due to the improper disposal of items down the toilet.
Whatever the scenario may be – big or small, residential or commercial – sewage back ups are no joke and should be handled by professionals. Our emergency response teams are equipped to deal with anything out there, so giving us a call is a guarantee for a timely resolution to issues with your plumbing.
Disinfecting your property after all else is settled
Dealing with sewage waste is done in a quick manner in order to limit and mitigate any damage which may have occurred. Wooden floors and carpeted areas are most likely the most affected and should be either thoroughly cleaned or entirely removed.
The disinfection process of any remaining affected surfaces will be carried out with natural, non-toxic solutions and detergents to kill any harmful bacteria. They are the main source of smells so removing them will remove any smells as well.
Deodorizing a property after a sewage back-up is a part of our Sewage Clean-up Service and will deal with any odors.
24/7, 365 days a year emergency sewage and water damage response
Disasters like this can strike at any time of the day or night, most likely in peak hours, and when it does you’d like to have someone to come and deal with it. GCD Restoration gives you a quick-time response, at a short notice, within 60 minutes of your initial call for help.
You will also find our water damage restoration service (https://dev.gcdrestoration.com/restoration-services/water-damage-restoration-san-francisco/) quite useful, in cases where any damage to your property has been sustained due to a sewage back-up. Call us at (650) 835-4447 and get the problem fixed quick!
