Sewage Clean Up Remedy and Restoration

Sewage Clean Up and Restoration

What happens when sewage leaks or sewage pipes burst or break?

Sewage is the term used for wastewater that often contains faeces, urine and laundry waste. There are millions of people in the UK, so treating sewage is a massive priority. Sewage spills, leakage or overflow is a serious issue and needs to be dealt with promptly.  Please call us on 0333 7720638 and we’ll be happy to help.

Responsibility for sewage clean up or restoration

Within a household or commercial property, leaking or damaged sewers are usually the responsibility of the householder, sometimes the tenant and often the landlord. In general, it’s better to deal with sewage leaks promptly and figure out liability later rather than run the risk of serious illness or worse from sewage contamination.  If you are a landlord and a tenant calls to report a sewage leak then you really should act immediately.  Please call us on 0333 7720638.

Why is sewage dangerous?

Sewage spills contain contaminants that can cause very serious illness or disease. Disease causing agents in raw sewage include bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses which  can and do cause serious illnesses including bacterial infections such as Tetanus, Hepatitis A, Leptospirosis, infections by Cryptosporidium & Giardia as well as gastrointestinal diseases.

There are two types of drainage or sewer systems in the UK. The foul sewer carries used wastewater to a sewage works for treatment and the surface water sewer which carries uncontaminated rainwater directly to a local river, stream or soak away. Only rainwater waste should be connected to a surface water sewer. All other waste water from sinks, baths, washing machines, dishwashers and the like should be connected to a foul sewer.

What happens when you call us out?

Whenever we are called upon to carry out a job then there are steps that we take in every case:

Before we carry out any work

• We carry out a comprehensive risk assessment to effectively evaluate risks to people, property and the environment.
• After carrying out a risk assessment, we create a method statement. A method statement details exactly how we are going to carry out a task and details the steps that need to be taken to safely carry out the work. This could involve detailing the type of equipment we might be using, the PPE (personal protective equipment) that might be needed and the processes involved in actually carrying out the work.
• COSHH Risk Assessment. COSHH is short for control of substances hazardous to health. The COSHH risk assessment that we carry out is done to identify the risks involved with the materials that we are dealing with and also to understand the risks involved with using the chemicals that we decide to use.
• Creation of a Waste Transfer Note. A waste transfer note (WTN) is a document that details the transfer of waste from one person to another. We make certain that every load of waste you that we receive on your behalf or that we pass to others is covered by a WTN. WTNs make certain that there is a clear audit trail from when the waste is produced until it is disposed of.
• PPE and RPE Training or Toolbox Talks. We make certain that all of our team know what and how to use their PPE (personal protective/protection equipment). This is done through Toolbox talks. Put simply, someone experienced and also qualified if necessary in the effective use of PPE demonstrates and explains exactly how to put on, wear and work in items of PPE. RPE (Respiratory Protection Equipment) such as breathing apparatus often needs specialist training or instruction in safe and  effective useage and we also make certain that our team are fully equipped, trained and competent in the use of RPE at all times.

How we clean up and remedy sewage leaks

After carrying out our pre-work checks, the first thing that we do is to make certain that the leak is contained. This can involve evacuation of the building, closing down of areas, putting down booms or bunds to contain sewage and prevent further contamination, etc.

We will make certain that the area that we are going to work in has adequate ventilation so we may need to open doors or windows but each and every case is different and we will always work in the safest possible manner.

The leak or breakage in the sewer pipe needs to be fixed. We can take care of that for you or you might want to have someone else do that for you. In either case, the sewer cannot be used until the sewer system itself is made good and sealed back properly.

Removing the sewage itself

Depending on the amount of sewage waste involved, we will either remove by hand (buckets, spades and full PPE), etc but often we need to use specialist equipment such as pumps. When you call us and when we attend the site please provide as much information as possible to allow us to arrive fully equipped to deal with your particular situation.

Chemical Use

The chemicals that we use are all effective for the political micro control of:

A/H1N1 swine, P.aeruginosa, E.coli, S.aureus, Enterococcus hirae, Bacillus subtilis, MRSA, C.difficile, Mycobaclerium, Tuberculosis, MRSA, Medical Waste Treatment Aspergillus niger, Listeria, Salmonella and Legionella pneumophila. Feline Calicivirus (Human Norovirus surrogate), Feline Coronavirus (SARA surrogate), enveloped and non-enveloped virus, HIV and C.difficile.

Some of Our Accreditations and Standards

ISO 9001. The ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS) is the world’s most popular quality management standard, with over one million certified organisations in 180 countries worldwide.

ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental management system. It helps organisations to  improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste, gaining a competitive advantage and the trust of stakeholders.

ISO 45001 is the world’s international standard for occupational health and safety, issued to protect employees and visitors from work-related accidents and diseases.

As fully trained and insured members of the National Academy of Crime Scene Cleaners (www.nacsc.co.uk) as well as being fully licensed waste carriers, we are able to safely and effectively dispose of all biohazard waste. We are registered as an upper tier waste carrier with the Environment Agency

SafeContractor Accredited. The SafeContractor scheme was created to showcase and ensure that a business places their employees’ health and safety first. SafeContractor is an accreditation provided by Alcumus, who are a leading provider of risk management, certification and accreditation services with over 27,000 members.

Constructionline Member. Constructionline is a remote assessment of a company and that looks for the business to provide information about the company, directors, finances and areas of operation.  In addition, Constructionline audits Health & safety, equal opportunities and environmental management policies, procedures and standards.

Alcumus COVID-19 secure.  We have been assessed by Alcumus regarding our COVID-19 cleaning standards. This shows and proves that we provide accurate and effective cleaning procedures for customers in order to eliminate the potential of Coronavirus transmission as well as reinstating  a clean and hazard free environment when someone has tested positive with the virus.