Sewage in my crawlspace. What to do???

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Fri Sep 05, 2003 12:19 am

Long story short.... Plugged up sewage line downstream resulted in a sewage fountain in my crawlspace (via vent pipe) this evening. :evil:

Some items were damaged/ruined, but mostly just concerned about long term health hazard issues. Crawl space has no vapor barrier (yeah I know I need one) and a gravel over dirt floor. Only about 1/4 was covered, but it was about 1ft deep.

Sewage line has been fixed and sewage has been pumped out of crawl space as of a few minutes ago. The company that has the contract for maintaining the Durham county sewage system is sending "AfterDisaster" out in the morning. Wife and kids are already at hotel. I am joining them in a few minutes.

So far they are trying hard to make things right. But does anyone have any tips on what I should do/ask for (both Durham county and "AfterDisaster")?

I also found out I should have a "sewage check valve" installed.

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Wed Sep 10, 2003 12:33 pm

Ok, so it is mostly over. Few notes for the future....

1. Most likely if this happens to you, your insurance will not pay for this. So try to get someone else to foot the bill. Luckly it was Durham County's fault and they are paying for it.

2. Have a professional clean it up.

3. Don't live near the main sewage line.

George Bright · **Posted:** Wed Sep 10, 2003 7:19 pm

This post reminds me of some info the city of Raleigh sent out last year. It said that the city is not responsible for sewage backups. :evil:

George Bright

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Thu Sep 11, 2003 2:05 pm

George Bright wrote:

This post reminds me of some info the city of Raleigh sent out last year. It said that the city is not responsible for sewage backups. :evil:

George Bright

I am suprised so far that Durham County is willing to pay without putting up a fight. I am now trying to determine if the County/State needs to officially certify (in writing or something) that the clean up is finished and was handled properly. I expect that they do, but most likely they don't give this type of stuff to the property owner, but is more for State regulators only.

:toilet:

(are the new emoticons great or what?!)

Chuck Frank · **Posted:** Mon Sep 15, 2003 1:50 pm

If you want more peace of mind, after they finish, mix a 10% Chlorox/water solution in a garden sprayer and drench the crawlspace with it. (Hope they removed any "white sewer fish"!)

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Wed Sep 17, 2003 7:32 pm

Chuck Frank wrote:

(Hope they removed any "white sewer fish"!)

Chuck raises a good point. Just to be on the safe side, I'd probably throw a couple bug bombs in there.

Mark Vitacco · **Posted:** Thu Sep 18, 2003 8:57 am

I don't know what white sewer fish are and probably don't want to know.
Sorry about your ideal.
Question: what point does the city/county take responsibility for sewer
lines. Example: for water lines is the meter on back.
My buddy in NY is a microbioligest, Clorax will kill just about anyting that
can hurt you (including anthrax)
Found out the hard: Insurance will not cover water damage
due to blocked drains-but they will cover water damage due to burst
pipes in the house.

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Thu Sep 18, 2003 9:15 am

Mark Vitacco wrote:

Question: what point does the city/county take responsibility for sewer
lines. Example: for water lines is the meter on back.

I have a cleanout plug between the house and the main sewer line. I was told by them (Durham County) that from the clean out to the main line is their responsibility. From the cleanout to the house is mine. I think this is all from a maintenance point of view. I have no idea if it is standard practice to install a cleanout between the house and main line. The house I grew up in (built in the 1950's) didn't have one.

I think it is unclear who is responsible for other problems such as sewage back flows. Probably each city/county sewage system has their own rules. My homeowners insurance would not have covered this unless I had a flood policy.

Regarding the Bleach suggestions. It looks like it is the wonder chemical, but they were hesitant to use it as apparently bleach reaching the freshwater streams is a "spill" that would have to be dealt with as well. In general at this point I am pretty happy with the other stuff that was used. If you look at the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the various versions of Microban that they used it is some serious stuff. Probably kills much like Bleach, but might be a bit safer to use (and more expensive). There are versions of Microban that can be used on carpets, etc. that you couldn't do with Bleach.

Chuck Frank · **Posted:** Thu Sep 18, 2003 11:53 am

If you ever visit a sewage treatment plant (NOT recommended) you would see a surprising large # of white sewer fish "swimming" in the tanks, I think they even come in colors and ribbed now. :wink:

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Fri Sep 19, 2003 9:53 am

Chuck Frank wrote:

Hope they removed any "white sewer fish"!

NC Dept Env. and Nat. Resources (DENR) requires them to remove "solids" as well spread lime on surface spills (alters PH level to kill bacteria, etc. I think).

So all of that is supposed to be gone by now. I haven't seen any swim by myself. :oops:

THSCC Forums

Sewage in my crawlspace. What to do???

Who is online