What the Sewage Cleanup Process Involves, From First Look to Dry Walls

The sewage cleanup process is a sequence, and the order is the point: look, protect, remove, sort, wash, disinfect, dry. This page lays out the published professional procedure, drawn mainly from a guideline paper on sewage backflow whose authors include a U.S. EPA health scientist, with state health departments and the CDC filling in details.

A contractor that takes a referral chooses its own methods. What follows describes public guidance, not what any particular company does.

Stage one: looking before touching

The guideline paper says the health threat depends on the content of the sewage and how far it has penetrated the building. The factors it lists are the volume and solids content of the backflow, whether the flooding stays in the basement or reaches other levels, and how long the contamination has been there. Its working assumption is that disease-causing organisms are present. Connecticut's health department adds that, generally, the more solids from human waste are in the water, the greater the need for professional help.

Gray wet-dry vacuum with a coiled hose and a wide black squeegee against a white block wall on a damp concrete floor.

Stage two: protecting the people

The paper calls for technicians near the sewage in the early stages to wear respirators with HEPA filtration, rubber gloves, splash goggles and boots, and for unprotected occupants and workers to leave the affected areas while that early work goes on. Connecticut's health department adds that raw sewage should never be touched with bare hands.

Stage three: getting the sewage out

Heavy organic matter and silt come out by any safe means available, the paper says, and it names shovels, squeegees, pump trucks, wet vacuums and moisture-extraction machines. The tools themselves must be cleaned and disinfected afterwards. Once water is out, the paper describes spraying the affected materials with a disinfectant solution.

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Stage four: deciding what stays

Each material is judged by how porous it is. The paper says cheap, highly porous items such as carpet cushion, carpet and cardboard should be removed and discarded, and that saturated mattresses and cloth upholstery cannot be restored. Ohio's health department says carpet might be saved by thorough steam cleaning but its padding still goes. Connecticut puts the rule in a sentence: discard the porous materials that sewage touched.

Stage five: wash, then disinfect

The paper says affected materials must be cleaned before a second disinfectant application, and that contact time is of critical importance. Ohio says disinfection will not be effective on surfaces that are not clean first. Connecticut and the paper both warn that mixing chlorine-containing solutions with ammonia produces a dangerous gas.

Stage six: drying, and proving it

Drying comes last and takes the longest. The paper sets a low relative-humidity target, and says a moisture meter should judge whether drying is adequate. It adds that even concrete can be colonized by microorganisms if left wet and contaminated. Colorado's health department warns that an enclosed space such as a basement may take several weeks to dry. A smell that outlasts the cleanup is covered in tracing an odor that is not a backup.

Getting a contractor involved

Sewage Cleanup Crew, LLC employs no cleanup staff; a Contact Us request is relayed to a contractor serving the address. The parties involved in a basement cleanup each get a section of their own, and the main page of this site explains the referral.

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Common questions

The guideline paper says materials must be cleaned before a second disinfectant application, and Ohio's health department says disinfection will not be effective on a surface that is not clean.
Connecticut lists contaminated ductwork in forced-air or central-air homes among the situations that favor hiring a professional.
Colorado's health department says concrete walls and floors should be washed thoroughly and allowed to dry. The guideline paper cautions that even concrete can be colonized by microorganisms if it stays wet and contaminated.
According to Colorado's health department, a musty odor means microorganisms are still growing, and it may linger well after the overflow itself.