Sewage Damage clean Up in Baltimore Maryland and Washington DC

Dear reader: Before reading this article , if you have an immediate sewage clean up need and you are in Maryland , Baltimore or Washington DC please call Jeff at 410-458-5371 . 

Sewage Damage in Baltimore and Washington DC is by far the worst type of property damage a home or business owner can encounter.

There are issues one must be aware before attempting to clean up a sewage back up or sewage damage in their basement or anywhere in their home . Here area few : 

1.  Safety must be your first concern when working with sewage back ups 

When working with a sewage clean up in your basement , you must remember to wear and protect yourself with the following items:

1. PPE or personal protective equipment including air filter masks , heavy duty rubber gloves , heavy duty rubber boots and tools.  Sewage can possible contain every known bacteria and disease known to man . Besides the PPE equipment, the person cleaning the sewage back up in the basement should have their necessary medical vaccine  shots . If you are not sure 100 % sure contact your medical care professional.

2.  Follow the IICRC S500 Guidelines . The following are a few of the many IICRC S500 guidelines in reference to sewage clean up especially in the Baltimore Maryland and Washington DC area . Please be aware that not all information is included in this article  .

1. Extract sewage and contaminated water in a specific extraction container just for sewage clean up. Using any old extractor that is used for clean water can or could distribute disease and bacteria to other areas.
2. Disposing of the sewage and contaminated water is an issue it’s self . You can’t just dump it outside on the ground or on the street or even in the sewer system . It must either be dumped in a legal sewage disposal site or back in your toilet and flush downed .  If not you could be liable and sued for illegible dumping or worse make someone ill.

3. After extraction , remove all hydroscopic materials that have been absorbed and even touched by the sewage water in your basement . These items are anything that can absorb such as furniture , walls, carpets , boxes, etc. Plastic can be cleaned , and other solid materials and objects . Once all hydroscopic materials ( drywall, carpet, etc. )  have been removed and the sewage in the basement has been removed , you must thoroughly disinfect the entire effected area. But we aware that there are very small cervices that sewage particles that hide. Therefore you need to power wash and force those particles out before disinfection .
4. Disinfect using a hospital grade chemical that is safe for humans and yet kills almost all bacteria . You must flood the entire effected area with this chemical .  Just spraying the chemical may not get all areas . Also the chemical must dwell for at least 15 minutes to make sure that the chemical does it's job. Users of any chemicals for disinfection or any project  must realize that chemicals are designed to do a job that may take more than just a few minutes . It’s recommended by the IICRC to repeat this process a few times.
5. Removing Moisture- Those who are not certified to restore a sewage back up in basements especially in Baltimore Maryland or Washington DC , do not realize that moisture and high humidity are still present in the air and materials such as concrete , wood studs and other materials that are left . The remaining moisture will cause mold . To solve the moisture,  air movers and dehumidifiers must be used over a few days . Using residential grade dehumidifiers that you get from a store are not designed to remove moisture from materials like wood studs , etc. You need  commercial grade dehumidifiers . Also how does one know if all the moisture has been removed from the basement or sewage damaged area ?  That can be done using GPP moisture detection equipment which only IICRC certified Baltimore Maryland sewage clean up contractors have . GPP moisture meters will make sure that your basement is dry and won’t attract additional mold growth .

So after reading this article on clean up of sewage backups which happen a lot in Baltimore Maryland and Washington DC , you may ask I can’t possibly do this myself . So where do I find someone especially outside of Maryland and Washington DC to perform a sewage back up clean up ?

I recommend going to the IICRC.org and looking at their certified contractors . These contractors have the knowledge to follow the IICRC S500 Guidelines to clean up sewage damage and sewage clean up procedures .

If you have a sewage damage or need a sewage back up clean up in the Baltimore Maryland and Washington DC area please call SI Restoration at 410-458-5371 .

Towson          

Pikesville 

Catonsville 

Bel Air 

Baltimore City 

Baltimore County 

Dundalk 

Essex 

Laurel 

Parkton 

Westminster 

Aberdeen 

Hyattsville 

Burtonsville 

Bowie 

Chevy Chase

Elkton 

Gaithersburg 

Rockville 
Germantown 

Hampstead 

Manchester 

Mount Airy 

Sykesville 

Takoma Park 

Upper Marlboro 

Washington DC