Sewage Cleanup Services
Sewage spills are unpleasant and can cause significant disruption to your home or business. The accompanying contamination and offensive odours can be a serious health risk.
Common causes of sewage spills and overflows:
- Floods and storm damage
- Faulty equipment
- Old or broken pipes
- Accidental damage during construction, building and digging
- Blockages with debris of waste components
Internal and external areas of a property can be heavily contaminated with raw sewage. Inside, the contaminated waste can seep its way into walls, floors, furniture, soft furnishings, cupboards and ceilings making a property completely uninhabitable.
Outside, the raw sewage can spread a long distance from the original break or overflow and can contaminate soil, outdoor furniture, vegetable gardens, swimming pools, patios and other outside structures and plantings.
When a sewage spill or overflow occurs in your home or your place of business, you need a professional forensic cleaning company that can deal with the removal of contaminated materials and the hazardous clean-up quickly and effectively to minimise exposure and contain the spread.
Diseases Caught from Sewage
Sewage is a major carrier of diseases. Most illnesses that arise from contact with sewage are caused by pathogens (disease-causing microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses). Most pathogens are parasites (live off the host) and the diseases they cause are an indirect result of their obtaining food from, or shelter in, the host.
They often cause acute illnesses such as diarrhoea and infections that can be violent and unpleasant although with no lasting effects. However, in some cases, pathogens can cause serious long-term illnesses.
Diseases that can be caught from raw sewage include:
E. coli (Escherichia coli) is a type of bacteria that normally lives in the intestines of people and animals. There are many types of E. coli, and most of them are harmless. However, some types of E. coli can intestinal infection include diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and fever. More severe cases can lead to bloody diarrhoea, dehydration, or even kidney failure. People with weakened immune systems, pregnant women, young children, and older adults are at increased risk for developing these complications.
Giardia and Cryptosporidium are microscopic, protozoan parasites that can be found in water contaminated with faeces. In humans, Giardia causes an intestinal illness called giardiasis or “beaver fever”. Cryptosporidium is responsible for a similar illness called cryptosporidiosis. Symptoms include anorexia, vomiting, cramping abdominal pain, profuse watery diarrhoea, and sometimes fever and depression.
Hepatitis A is an acute (short-term but quite severe) infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus. Many cases have few or no symptoms. When symptoms occur, they typically last eight weeks and may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, jaundice, fever, and abdominal pain. It is usually spread by eating food or drinking water contaminated with infected faeces.
Leptospirosis is caused by infection with Leptospira germs (bacteria). The infection passes through animals (commonly rats) to humans. In most cases, leptospirosis causes a mild illness. But, in some people, a more severe illness occurs. This more severe form is commonly referred to as Weil’s disease.
It can be passed on to humans through contact with soil or water contaminated with infected urine. The bacteria usually get into the human body through a cut or small abrasion in the skin or the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, and eyes.
Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is caused by an infection with the bacterium Clostridium tetani, which is commonly found in soil, saliva, dust, and manure. The bacteria enters through a break in the skin such as a cut or puncture wound by a contaminated object. The infection characterised by muscle spasms. Other symptoms may include fever, sweating, headache, trouble swallowing, high blood pressure, and a fast heart rate.
Sewage Cleanup Services
Sewage spills can spread rapidly, so a prompt response to any sewage spill is essential due to the considerable health and safety risks and the possibility of adjacent and nearby soil or groundwater becoming contaminated.
We recommend you do not attempt to handle the situation yourself due to the bio-hazardous nature of the spill.
National Trauma and Crime Scene Cleaning technicians are highly qualified and experienced in all forms of bio cleaning and sewage cleanup services to safely and cost-effectively remove biohazards. After removal of raw sewage, our technicians will ensure that the area is completely disinfected using Antimicrobial Solutions. Odours will be neutralised, and the affected area left clean and safe.
Call us anytime 24/7 and our emergency response team will be on your doorstep in no time at all.