NLR Sewage Cleanup are specialists in cleaning raw sewage.
Raw sewage can contain many contaminants, and it’s important to use a reputable company to ensure that the health risks are mitigated.
If sewage isn’t cleaned and sanitised correctly, the risks can include:
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
E-Coli
Asthma and breathing difficulties
Skin infections
Flu-like symptoms
Other bacteria (salmonella, shigella, and more)
Other viruses (coronavirus, rotavirus, and enteroviruses)
Protozoa (Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, and more)
Parasites (such as threadworms, tapeworms, roundworms or strongyloidiasis, hookworms, and whipworms)
These contaminants generally enter the body through four ways: the eyes or mouth, entering through open cuts, especially on your feet, or through inhalation into the lungs.
The best way to avoid risks such as these is to call sewage professionals such as NLR Sewage Cleanup. We are often contracted for post-coronavirus cleaning cases and for infection control in hospitals, so you can rest assured that we’re able to clean and sanitise your property. Free-call us 24/7 on 1300 070 562!
Is exposure to raw sewage fumes safe?
It is unsafe to remain exposed to raw sewage fumes in high quantities or for extended periods of time. Sewage fumes or sewer fumes are usually a mix of ammonia, hydrogen sulphide (rotten egg gas), methane, esters, carbon monoxide and dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
A word of warning: prolonged exposure to smells can cause olfactory fatigue, the loss of ability to smell something you’re continually being exposed to. This means, in basic terms, that if you ignore a sewer gas problem, you won’t notice it after a while, but the effects of raw sewage fumes will still continue.
What are the effects of raw sewage on people?
Fatigue
Loss of appetite
Headaches
Irritability
Dizziness
Pneumonia
At higher concentrations, sewage fumes have also been linked to:
- Loss of consciousness
- Collapse
- Death
However, these last symptoms are much, much less frequent, and are a result of extremely high exposure to especially hydrogen sulphide (although it should be said that exposure to any individual gas in high enough concentrations can be harmful. That even goes for oxygen!)
Oxygen Toxicity article
At low levels, these gases are able to be smelled, and smelling sewer gas is often the first sign that you have a leaking or burst pipes. However, there are many reasons for sewer gas smell – your sewage vents could be blocked, clogged, or improperly placed.
Alternatively, the water trap to a sink or toilet could have run dry (this is common in infrequently used sinks and toilets), or it could be another issue (click here: How to identify and remove sewer gas smell in your house for DIYers guide to working this out).
However, it is always worth investigating these smells and recording where you have smelled them, as this will help a qualified plumber track down the source of a sewer gas leakage.
If you would like to get rid of sewer gas in a home or business, however, you can open windows and turn on fans to remove the smell, and pour water down drains to refill the water traps. This could solve your problem without the need to hire a plumber.
If this doesn’t work, however, it is always worth getting in a professional to help determine the cause.
How do I remove sewer gas from my home?
Removing sewer gas or sewage gas from your home or business is very simple and easy to do, though finding the source can be more difficult.
The basic principle of sewer gas removal is to increase ventilation – turn on fans, open windows, turn on your air-conditioning. If these don’t work, it may suggest that the outside air is a source of sewer gas ingress into your home, which could indicate a clogged or blocked sewerage vent or improper placement of vents too close to windows or doors.
The other option to remove sewer gas smell from your home or business is to hire or purchase a HEPA air scrubber with a VOC (volatile organic compound) filter attached. These machines and filters are expensive and require regular filter replacement, however, so they are often only a good idea if you’re using them for a few weeks at the most.
VOC filters are sometimes called activated carbon filters – though be careful, because not all carbon filters are effective at removing VOCs from the air.
If you’d like help renting a HEPA air scrubber, or purchasing VOC filters, please don’t hesitate to call our sister company Agile Equipment Hire on 1300 070 562 to see how they can help you with your needs.