Let’s look at how to clean up and treat raw sewage on the ground, especially yard septic spills.
Raw sewage on the ground can be disgusting and a pending disaster for people and the environment. It contains harmful pathogens and parasites that can enter your home.
When left untreated, they can cause inconveniences, expenses, and health risks. Experts say exposure to open raw sewage can lead to various diseases, including hepatitis.
That said, you must respond quickly but carefully to such an emergency. You can start by keeping yourself, your children, and your pets away from affected areas.
Raw Sewage in Yard
This guide will show you how to treat raw sewage on the ground. In addition to that, we’ll highlight some equipment you’ll need and more.
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What Do You Understand Sewage Treatment?
Sewage treatment, whether on the ground or in a sewer, involves removing contaminants from waste materials. The process involves screening, sedimentation, digestion, and aeration to remove tiny, large, or solid particles.
Sewage treatment is primarily carried out to reduce the amount of suspended solids ad oxygen demand in the water before discharging to the environment.
How Do I Know There’s a Yard Raw Sewage Spill?
Raw sewage on the ground isn’t something that can be hidden.
Several ways are available to detect such events. One is terrible odors around the drain field area, especially after heavy rainfall. The affected water will stand around the grainfield area.
Another way to identify sewage on the ground is very wet spots with lush green grass growing over septic tanks or drain field areas.
Plumbing or septic tank backups, gurgling sounds around the plumbing system, and slow-draining fixtures are additional warning signals.
So whenever you encounter either of these events, consider treating the sewage as soon as possible.
Treating Raw Sewage On the Ground
Dealing with raw sewage on the ground depends on the level of severity. If it’s a minor spillage, you can treat it yourself.
But if it’s a significant spillage, we’ll advise you to call an expert or professional company to help. For minor spills, the steps below will give you a guide.
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Quarantine the Whole of the Affected Area
Before treating raw sewage on the ground, you’ll need to clear the affected areas. Do not allow your children or pets near the vicinity.
They might be at risk of illness or cause further contamination. Having done that, you should find out if the sewage escapes into a natural watercourse.
If it does, seek advice from a sewage cleaning specialist as soon as possible. If not, you may be prosecuted for allowing sewage to run through a natural watercourse.
Furthermore, it would be best if you stopped using your wastewater system at the time of contamination. We refer to toilets, showers, baths, sinks, etc.
This will prevent water from entering the system and add more contamination.
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Treat the Sewage
For minor sewage spillage, you can use agricultural lime for the treatment. It’s an excellent substance that reduces the odor of sewage and encourages the breakdown of organic matter.
According to experts, it works to increase the pH to above 12.0. This makes it highly recommended for clearing raw sewage on the ground.
To use garden lime for cleanup, sprinkle it on the affected area until it’s covered in white dust. If the sewage is thicker in some parts, you’ll need to mix the lime in for efficiency.
You can use a rake for the operation. When you’re done, please leave it to stand for 24 hours.
After that, you collect the thicker residue using a rake. Next, you put it in a strong bin bag and dispose of it appropriately. But that’s not the end.
Water the remaining lime away using a hose, sprinkler, or watering can. Allow the entire area to dry completely in the sun to kill all bacteria.
During this process, don’t rake up the area straight away.
It will slow down the process and makes it less effective. If the white dusting of the lime still appears, water it again until it disappears.
Handling Major Raw Sewage on Ground
You’ll need advanced equipment and techniques for those who want to treat major raw sewage spillage.
That’s because they are the most dangerous raw sewage spillage we have. To treat such cases, read the following paragraph carefully.
To start your treatment, you’ll need a vacuum tanker. This will extract a large amount of liquid from the ground. You should also remove sewage-contaminated items and place them into a bin bag.
After that, you disposed of the bin bag appropriately. Meanwhile, the liquid sewage collected by the vacuum cleaner must be taken for safe disposal.
Note: if the raw sewage affects your farmland, don’t use it to grow crops following the treatment. Allow it to sit for about 12 months then you can resume your farming activities.
Safety Tips
Remember, we mentioned earlier that sewage contains harmful pathogens.
Before you begin any treatment, you must wear the correct protective gear. This will prevent the risk of infection or contamination.
Some protective clothing you’ll need includes waterproof Wellington boots, waterproof gloves, and thick old clothing. You may also require a mask, face visor, or safety goggles.
Furthermore, you’re advised not to eat or drink in areas of contamination.
As mentioned earlier, raw sewage has harmful microorganisms that can enter the body if necessary precautions aren’t followed.
Moreover, it’s essential always to practice excellent personal hygiene. This means you’ll constantly wash your hands with anti-viral and anti-bacterial disinfectants.
As for the tools you use for treatment, they’ll require disinfecting. Failure to do so may increase the growth of harmful microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi. What’s more?
You’ll need to properly clean your driveways, patios, decking, ornaments, tables, and other surfaces.
Finally, your clothes for the treatment should be separate from any non-affected clothes. You can wash infected clothes with hot water or take them to dry cleaners for professional and effective cleaning.
Treating raw sewage is an activity that should be addressed immediately. As you can see, it contains dangerous pathogens that can threaten human and environmental health.
Therefore, if you have such spillage near your vicinity, you must immediately act. The steps above will lead you to treat such spillage successfully.
However, you’ll need to buy the safety tips we’ve provided.