A toilet overflow is a very serious situation, and one that is dangerous to even the healthiest people. The amount of micro-organic contamination that can thrive in sewage water is pretty staggering, and it only takes a brief amount of exposure to that water to make a person ill. That’s why professional cleaning services take the extra steps necessary to safely dispose of affected surfaces or to clean them when cleaning is a preference.
It’s important to note that professionals are best at making the assessment when it comes to how to clean after a toilet overflow, what to dispose of, and how to dispose of it. You may believe that a simple bleaching or vigorous scrubbing of a bathroom will fix the problem, but the bacteria and parasites that live in sewage lines can live for far longer than you realize, and can even resist or deactivate the sanitizing properties of bleach. So what makes toilet overflows so hazardous?
Microorganisms exist in just about any form of water that you’ll find running through a home, but in varied amounts. Even the tap water that you drink or shower in, most likely has living organisms in it. In small amounts, these bacteria and other organisms are harmless, but when you’re dealing with water that comes from the toilet, they’re a much bigger concern. Microorganisms that thrive in sewage are hazardous to your health, and difficult to get rid of without proper water cleaning services. Even worse, they can cause extreme illness through the briefest of exposure.
Proper disposal of any fabric or porous material is an absolute must, and primarily for the above mentioned reasons. Once these surfaces become exposed to microorganisms and a large amount of water, it becomes very difficult, or even nearly impossible, to get rid of them completely. While it may not seem like that big of a problem now, consider that those surfaces can leak moisture, and those bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites through to the wood below.
Mold growth is another threat that occurs due to the presence of moisture. Mold takes as little as 48 hours to begin growing in a contaminated area that experienced a toilet or sewage overflow. Once that happens, you’ll not only be dealing with the colonies of mold that you can see, but the spores that you can’t. Inhaling those spores can lead to severe allergic reactions, even in individuals who have previously expressed no major allergies. Mold reactions can include headaches, fatigue, difficulty breathing, or even full loss of consciousness.
If you have had a toilet overflow, please leave the clean-up to the professionals. Proper, protective clothing, gloves, and goggles are necessary, along with professional-grade equipment and special cleaning solutions that cleaners are trained and certified to use. With these in hand, a professional cleaning service will be able to clean and restore your home, making it safe once again. There’s no reason to risk your health or the health of your loved ones by trying to do the work on your own.
Author: Dick Wagner
