What to Do When You Have Sewage and/or Black Water on Your Property

Black water floods come from sewer and septic back-ups, broken waste pipes, toilet overflows and lake or river floods.

Sewer or “black water” contains human waste, pathogens and infectious materials and contains thousands of disease causing viruses, bacteria and protozoa that can cause very serious illnesses if not remediated properly.

Midwest Remediation is the expert at remediating black water floods. We utilize special procedures to properly restore buildings and contents, as well as to protect your health and prevent further property damage.

Call our 24-hour Emergency Services line (317) 826-0940 and we’ll be on our way fast. Until we arrive, you can minimize dangerous exposure and speed the restoration process by following these tips.

• Don’t run any water or use any toilets, even those that are not directly affected, until the source of the blockage is identified and corrected.
• Close all drain openings with stoppers or plugs to prevent additional backup. You may need extra weight on the stopper to keep the drain sealed.
• Plug toilets with a string mop or wadded rags.
• Stay away from affected areas to reduce the possibility of spreading contamination.
• If you need to walk through or touch any of the contaminated area, wear rubber boots and gloves.
• Turn off your central heating and air conditioning system and block the flow from reaching exposed vents.
• Don’t move anything out of contaminated areas.
• Remove any contaminated clothes and place in a bag or container to prevent any spread of contamination.
• Don’t attempt to clean anything in the affected areas before you contact us. This includes walls, carpet and flooring, furniture and any appliances and electronics.
• If you have come into contact with contaminated water, wash affected areas immediately.
• If you can access circuit breakers safely, turn off power in all affected areas.
• If the cause is outside the structure, turn off all water connections at their entry point to the structure.