Sewage and sewer blockage can be exceedingly dangerous to your health.
Sewage and sewer blockage can be exceedingly dangerous to your health.
You might think of ringing your plumber if sewerage is backing into your shower, toilets or bath tub. Decomposing matter in sewerage is extremely harmful to health and has to be promptly sanitised by clearing the blockage and disinfecting the area.
As an immediate measure whilst waiting for help, use one cup bleaching agent in every five gallons of water to clean up the area while you await the plumber. While doing so, don’t forget to wear eye wear, boots, gloves and long trousers, older people, pets and kids should be kept away. Wash your hands afterwards with antibacterial soap and clean warm water. The less water you have going down the drain the better in terms of preventing more sewerage backing up whilst you wait for help.
The cause of the problem might be a plugged waste line or a obstruction between the toilet and the shower. Whatever the cause, protecting you and your family from harmful waste needs to be your first concern.
Symptoms from being exposed to sewage may include diarrhea, stomach pain, fever, chills, and vomiting. Seek medical attention right away if you experience any of these symptoms.
Use a disinfectant (1 cup bleach in 5 gallons water)to sanitise any toilet items, toys, fixtures or other items that may have been polluted by the sewage. Items that cannot be cleansed (such as mattresses, stuffed animals, baby dolls, and wooden cutting boards) and food that may have been tainted by the drainage should be thrown away.
A drains pipes contractors sewer snake is the best piece of equipment for drainage backup in a shower area. It would be best for you to get 25 feet long one quarter inch snake to tackle the issue if you are not calling in a drains contractor. It will move more easily through the line. Sometimes in a bathroom the shower trap gets blocked but at the same time the toilet remains unaffected. The reason is that the typical shower drain is installed level with the floor whereas the toilet trap is typically 6 inches above the floor level.
The sewerage back flow may be too severe for you to tackle, in which case you should immediately ask for professional help. They will clean the drainage entirely and also identify the cause of the clog, getting rid of it for you and giving you recommendations on how to avoid a similar situation. It is better to let the expert handle the plumbing remedies unless you know precisely what you are doing.