Recent Biohazard Posts

What to Do About Sewage Leaks | SERVPRO of Dublin/Vidalia/Claxton

3/15/2024 (Permalink)

sewage water pooling on a kitchen floor after a leak SERVPRO of Dublin/Vidalia/Claxton is always Here to Help® you when biohazard incidents strike.

There are few things worse than having to deal with a sewage leak in your home or office building. They may not be the most destructive disaster that can happen, but they are considerably difficult due to the sheer fact that you are dealing with a gross situation.

Sewage leaks are actually pretty common, though, and they can happen anywhere to anyone. When you know how to quickly respond, you can keep everyone safe and get the issue taken care of fast.

What to Do First

When wastewater cannot move through your pipes cleanly, it starts backing up into your sinks, showers and tubs. This is commonly caused by a block or clog somewhere in the lines, but it can also be due to damage done to a pipe or water line.

Regardless of how the sewage starts to leak into your home, it’s crucial that you stay away from it. When water leaks into your home or commercial property, there are three kinds of water it can be: white water, gray water or black water. White water and gray water are considered mostly safe, but black water is toxic. Sewage leaks fall into the black water category because they stem from a biohazard material and can contain dangerous microbes, viruses and bacteria.

Find the water shut-off valve to your home and cut the water supply to help stop the leak. Block the area off to keep kids or pets away, and open as many windows as you can to help with the fumes. Call our office right away to get your restoration process started.

Where SERVPRO® Comes In

Our restoration team is trained to handle dangerous, biohazard situations quickly and safely. From the moment you call us, we will start gathering information about your unique situation in order to have the proper safety equipment and tools ready to head to your property.

Once our team is on the way, spend some time getting pictures of the area. This might not be the most fun thing you have ever photographed, but the more images you can get, the easier it will be to process your insurance claim.

When our team gets to your property, they will start removing the sewage and water while they also investigate the cause of the leak in order to correct it. Remember that sewage water is toxic, so let our crew handle everything while you and your family stay away.

Our cleaning process will include completely drying and sanitizing the whole area around the leak and addressing any odors. We want to make sure your property is not just safe, but free of any lingering smells as well. Our team will also repair any physical damage done in order to put your home or office back to exactly as it should be.

No one wants to deal with a stinky, messy, sewage leak, but that doesn’t mean it won’t ever happen. If it does, stay out and call us to ensure everything is handled safely and quickly. We’ve got it covered!

Sewage leaks should always be cleaned up by professionals. Call SERVPRO and we will take care of you.

Leave it to the Professionals

3/7/2018 (Permalink)

Most people don't think they'll ever have the need to deal with a biohazard, but it's surprisingly common. Should your home ever become the site of a crime scene, traumatic accident, or fall into distress and be in need of severe cleaning, you'll be put in the situation of figuring out what to do next. While some homeowners think it's perfectly fine to attempt cleaning up a biohazard on their own, that's actually the worst thing to do. 
 
Properly and safely cleaning up biological waste and dangerous materials requires expertise and the proper equipment. If you're facing a biohazard emergency, you're probably wondering how to get your home restored and back to normal. Here are just a few reasons why going the do it yourself route isn't best in this situation. 
 
1. Advanced cleaning equipment is needed. Trying to tackle a biohazard cleanup with regular household cleaning supplies and tools is not only inefficient but doing so will not properly disinfect your home. At SERVPRO, our staff is trained to get rid of all traces of biohazards, including those that you can't see. 
 
2. Your safety is important. Especially in the case of a biohazard scene that contains blood, human waste, or animal waste, preventing the spread of disease is important. Our technicians use specialized protective gear that allows us to handle biological emergencies and trauma scenes without exposing ourselves to risks. 
 
3. Disposing of the waste requires special care. Sometimes we have to use an incinerator or autoclave during a biohazard cleanup, but the waste can't simply be put into your garbage can. Things that become contaminated or ruined by a biohazard emergency have to be disposed of so that no one is exposed to any health risks, and specific permits are required to dispose of and transport biohazard waste. 
 
SERVPRO of Dublin/Vidalia/Claxton has a team of professionals who can handle your restoration emergency, even in the most extreme situations. To get a quote or learn more about our biohazard cleanup services, call us at (912) 538-1323.

Biohazard & Recovery Continuing Education

3/13/2017 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Continuing Education

A few times throughout the year, SERVPRO of Houston County, as well as our partner location SERVPRO of Dublin/Vidalia/Claxton,  offer continuing education classes to the Insurance, Real Estate and Property Management industries. These classes allow the attendees to earn credits for their respective fields. Most attendees use our classes to be better informed of industry standards and best practices. One of our more recent and popular classes is centered on Biohazards and Biorecovery procedures. This has proved to be a very informative class for all that attend. If you would like to learn more about our Continuing Education schedule or sign up for our classes, please call the office at (478) 224-4148 or send us an email to melissabridges.SERVPRO@gmail.com  to be put on our alert mailing list. We look forward to seeing you in class.