Cleaning indoor sewage spills

Thorough cleaning of indoor sewage spills is necessary to protect people -- especially small children -- from harmful bacteria and viruses. Clean-up should begin as soon as possible to reduce the risk of exposure to sewage.

Clean up tips:

• Keep children and pets out of the area until clean-up has been completed.
• Wear rubber gloves and boots.
• Wash your hands thoroughly and launder clothes separately after completing the clean-up.
• Remove all furniture, loose rugs, and so on from the area.
• Saturated wall-to-wall carpeting (and the pad) usually cannot be adequately cleaned. They should be removed, wrapped in plastic, and taken to a transfer station or sanitary landfill. If you decide to keep the carpeting, hire a licensed carpet cleaning company to steam clean and disinfect the carpet.
• All hard surfaces, such as linoleum, hardwood floors, concrete, wood moldings, wood, and metal furniture, and on should be thoroughly cleaned with hot water and a mild detergent (dish detergent), and then rinsed with a bleach solution by mixing one tablespoon of liquid household bleach to one gallon of water. Let the surface air dry.
• Upholstered furniture, loose rugs, drapery, and so on should be professionally cleaned. Notify the cleaner of the problem.
• Remove and replace plaster, plasterboard, and lath that have been saturated and are soft to the touch. If the surface has been wetted, clean as you would a hard surface, but do not saturate the plaster.
• Clean sinks, dishwashers, and other plumbing fixtures that have had sewage back-up with detergent, and then rinse with the bleach solution.
• Disinfect clean-up mops, brooms, and brushes with the bleach solution.
• Increase air circulation to reduce odors and mold growth -- open all windows and doors. The use of fans and heaters may speed this process.