Sewage, Black Water & Crawl Space Remediation

Black water damage must be taken seriously because it poses an immediate threat to human health.

As with any water damage, time is of the essence because delayed or improper drying can cause additional structural damage and mold growth. Steamatic of Sacramento (S.O.S.) provides 24-hour emergency services to mitigate clean, gray or black water losses. Trained technicians extract standing water, stabilize the environment and provide structural drying services.

S.O.S. adheres to the S500 for repairing water damage, the standard established by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). S.O.S. also uses the best available equipment and instrumentation to document the extent of the water damage and to monitor a thorough dry down. Our moisture sensing equipment includes a thermal imaging camera.

Crawlspaces Contaminated With Sewage
S.O.S. has remediated many crawlspaces that have been inundated by sewage. In addition to extracting the contaminated water and setting up a safe drying system as described above, S.O.S. most implement a third procedure to remediate the soil. 

The first step with any option is to remove any solids and debris. The first way to remediate the soil is by excavating several inches of the top soil. A second is covering the contaminated soil with at least 10 mil plastic sheeting to isolate it from the rest of the building. A more aggressive measure is the installation of radon gas mat covered by 10-mil plastic sheeting that is actively vented with a permanently-wired fan. The gas mat system allows the soil to bioremediate naturally. It can be removed in a year. See the description of the CleanSpace liner for another option.

Note: spraying the dirt with biocides isn't an option they are quickly deactivated by dirt. Nor does S.O.S. apply lime or lye in a crawl space because these corrosives are hazardous and preclude any other solutions.