It’s called black water for good but dirty reasons.
Sewage is a smelly, ugly toxic nightmare that comes to ugly life for thousands of American homeowners each year. You haven’t known pure plumbing terror until you’ve walked down to check on your basement after a storm and discovered a terrifying black mass of raw sewage invading from the drainage pipe. It’s a homeowner’s five alarm emotional and financial migraine few people wouldn’t wish on anyone, not even the ruthless villain in a “Fast And Furious” movie. Even the sewer-loving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles wouldn’t bathe in the stuff.
Ruined carpet and lost belongings are just the start of the ugly, messy issues sewage brings to homeowners. Sewage brings a flood of serious health threats including illness, disease and death. The National Resources Defense Council counts nearly two million cases of illness are caused by sewage contamination each year. Sewage is a dirty stew of contaminants, viruses and bacteria that often mixes in other toxic substances like pesticides, residuals from pharmaceutical drugs, fungi and protozoan.
The culprit in most home sewage stories is a substandard plumbing system. If you’re unsure of the strength, integrity and performance capability of your home’s plumbing system, you’re dancing with danger every time hard rains or storms target your house.
Homeowners dealing with sewage issues may ask themselves, “Why me?” out of frustration. But it’s exactly the question to ask. Knowing if and why your home is at risk for sewage problems is the first step in avoiding future sewage issues.
The Roots of Sewage Problems
Only a professional plumber or restoration professional like Reconstruction 380 can deduct the root causes of sewage backup problems, but some of the most common reasons are:
- Structural defects
- Root infiltration
- Wet weather
- Flooding around and under your home
- Planning problems with sewage lines
- Pipe blockages
- Broken or leaking pipes
Raw Ingredients
Not even a rat wouldn’t swim in the toxic cocktail that is sewage. Its ingredient list often contains hazardous bacteria that can cause health havoc to the human body.
The most common sewage bacteria include:
- E. Coli – Which causes abdominal cramping, diarrhea and occasionally death.
- Acanthomoeba – Eye, nose, throat and ear infections.
- Salmonella – Abdominal cramping and diarrhea
- Heliobacter Pylpri – Increased chance of ulcers
- Hepatitis – Liver infection and liver failure
- Leptospirosis – Muscle aches and vomiting
The severe health risks sewage brings into your home make it essential you call a plumber immediately. Making contact with sewage in any way – from skin contact to inhalation – can make you sick.
The Best Home Sewage Response Plan
When disaster strikes, swinging into action quickly is essential to minimizing both the financial and health damage sewage poses.
Step 1. Don’t Encounter Sewage Unprepared: Just like you wouldn’t venture out into a blizzard without a winter coat, hat and gloves, don’t inspect sewage damage in your basement without rubber-soled shoes and a breathing mask. Once you leave the sewage-infected area, remove your shoes and any clothing that may have come into contact with the sewage.
Step 2. Have A Sewage Backup Prevention Plan: The last place you want sewage to infiltrate is your bathtub or toilet. You don’t even want us to list the myriad of health risks in play if sewage travels into the bathroom. Taking preventative steps during the cleanup process from a sewage attack safeguards your home against future flooding issues.
These anti-sewage measures are musts for every home at risk of sewage issues:
- Waterproof your foundation
- Raise or remove sinks, toilets, washing machines and other appliances in the basement that can be prone to back ups
- Purchase a sump pump to pump out water that collects in low points of your basement or under your home.
Having a sound, strong Home Sewage Defense Shield will prevent your home and family from living black water nightmares.
