Housing issue... (warning: sewage related)

[meresal]

Has anyone had sewage back up into their home?

The sewer beneath our apt complex did while we were on our honeymoon. Though they discovered it, cleaned it, and put blowers in, they did not remove the carpet because they were hoping to get by with just shampooing it. (**shudder**

)
They say our garage neighbors called about it on Friday night, and the maintenance crew was in there first thing Saturday morning. The complex seems to think it only happened on Friday afteroon, but the liquid trail that the neighbors saw coming into their garage had to seep thru our outside wall, across the cement hallway and then thru their garage wall. I think it must have happened around Wednesday.
This also doesn''t include the fact the they just assumed it only happened in one bathroom and neglected to check the master bathroom and bedroom as well. Which DH and I discovered ourselves on Monday morning.
Anyway, they are replacing the flooring tomorrow, and I requested the carpet and padding be completely removed today, because I feel like it has collected the smell and is holding it inside. I wish they would have done it yesterday, but they didn''t seem to think it was a problem.

Can anyone advise me on the best way to make sure the smell is gone? Does it hold in the walls? the cement under the carpet padding? I am a huge germa-phobe so this entire situation chills me to the bones, but I''m worried I''m missing some major factors that need to be tended to?

 

[tlh]

Do you have Servepro in your area? They can do a fantastic job!

You''ll need to have a company to remove the baseboards to allow proper drying and for bacteria not to grow in those areas. They need to remove the carpet and padding. If it is sewage, this is considered black water and is not safe. It needs to be removed. Carpet sure, can be cleaned... but the padding is cheap - and a place for mold and bacteria to grow.

You''ll also need dryers throughout the entire structure of your home... not just the room the leak occured. I hope this helps. Sorry you had to come back from your honeymoon to this.

 

[meresal]

Thank you tlh. It''s definitely not what we were expecting. They took out the baseboards and are treating and re-painting them, and there are 4 blowers and 2 de-humidifiers thruout our 1200 sq ft place.

I''m going to check the place after work, to see that they took all the flooring out. I''m hoping that having some doors opening and closing will get some fresh air in there as well. We would normally crack the windows for a breeze, but here in Houston, the humidity keeps the floors feeling wet, so you can''t tell when they are dry.

 

[asscherisme]

I had a sewage backup last year in my basement and it was AWFUL. Just shampooing the rug is NOT enough. Anything that had the sweage touch it needs to be removed and thrown out and the floor under it to be disinfected.

My insurance company had me hire a hazardous waste place that specialized in this sort of thing. ANYTHING that was near the sewage was removed . Carpet, padding, baseboards, and even some drywall removed and replaced. Metal (as in parts of my furnance and cement floor under carpet and unfinished area were bleached down and disinfected.

It was gross and awful but my basement was fine withint a few weeks and its like it never happened.

The key thing to is to find out WHY it happened. We had a plumber with a camera route to the sewer.

I don''t know how they thoght the carpet was not a problem. Thats so gross.

 

[meresal]

Asscher, thanks for your comment!

You hit it right on the head... the things that worry me are the ones that you mentioned. The apartment complex doesn''t seem to be worried about finding out WHY this happened, and seem to just be treating it like a sink or a bathtub overflowed, completely ignoring the fact that this is waste, from a SEWER, and not just a clogged up toilet.
I wonder if it is ok to request that we have a plumber come out with a camera to see why it happened, and make sure it doesn''t happen again? I''m not sure as renters we have the ability to demand that though. I got a copy of the lease, but it doesn''t stipualte our rights when said accurance "actually" occurs. I''m sure they will just reference us to our renter''s insurance, though I would imagine the apt complex has insurance for these things.

I saw them frist hand turn bleach bottles upside down on the tile in the bathrooms, so I''m hoping that they put bleach on all of the cement under the carpet as well. I''ll be sure to ask them when I pop in a little bit later.

They didn''t pull out any of the dry wall. I did see the baseboards, and personally I would have been happiest if they were being replaced, but as long as they are treated with bleach, I guess that will work.

Everything would be fine if the just had another identical unit, I would rather have relocated completely.

 

[musincy]

I know moving is a pain, but if they aren''t willing to do the CORRECT repairs and replacements, you could probably get out of your lease. I honestly don''t know that I would be willing to live in a place that wasn''t properly cleaned and taken care of after something like that.

I''m sorry you have to deal with this

 

[dianne]

We had everything back up about 2 years ago and we were taking buckets and bailing it outside. It was awful...never did leak over the edge of the shower, because we were bailing, but came out around the bottom of the toilets but was able to catch all that with towels. I am so sorry you have to deal with this especially if germs give you nightmares.

 

[asscherisme]

Date: 8/18/2009 3:32:52 PM
Author: meresal
Asscher, thanks for your comment!

You hit it right on the head... the things that worry me are the ones that you mentioned. The apartment complex doesn''t seem to be worried about finding out WHY this happened, and seem to just be treating it like a sink or a bathtub overflowed, completely ignoring the fact that this is waste, from a SEWER, and not just a clogged up toilet.
I wonder if it is ok to request that we have a plumber come out with a camera to see why it happened, and make sure it doesn''t happen again? I''m not sure as renters we have the ability to demand that though. I got a copy of the lease, but it doesn''t stipualte our rights when said accurance ''actually'' occurs. I''m sure they will just reference us to our renter''s insurance, though I would imagine the apt complex has insurance for these things.

I saw them frist hand turn bleach bottles upside down on the tile in the bathrooms, so I''m hoping that they put bleach on all of the cement under the carpet as well. I''ll be sure to ask them when I pop in a little bit later.

They didn''t pull out any of the dry wall. I did see the baseboards, and personally I would have been happiest if they were being replaced, but as long as they are treated with bleach, I guess that will work.

Everything would be fine if the just had another identical unit, I would rather have relocated completely.

I''m glad I could help. Its still awful to deal with.

Something you wrote bothered me in particular. It does not matter how much they scrub the cement with bleach if they are putting down the sewage infected padding and carpet back down.

That stuff spreads too. You might only see a little bit on top of the carpet, but it spreads out and is absorbed by the carpeting. I was VERY lucky in that my insurance actually paid to replace the entire carpet in my basement becuase so much was affected and There was no way I could get a good match. So after it was all cleared out insted of sewage smell I had new carpet smell. Between painting the new drywall section and the carpet, it made it almost like new construction.

But had I not gotten the sewer routed with a camera I would have lived in fear of another back up.

I don''t think I could live in my home without it being properly cleaned up. But I own my home. As a renter, I guess the only choice would be to move.

But I would try the local health department. Do you have photos? I took tons of photos of the mess in case I had problems with my insurance. Thankfully I had way more documentation than needed.

I''m sorry what you are going through. It is awful and GROSS.

 

[mayachel]

Oh meresel, that is just the worst! YICK. I''m so sorry this is what you had to come home to. You were absolutely right to make them remove that carpet and padding, yi gads, I can''t believe they thought just shampooing was enough? Besides the obvious, I''d also be concerned about mold in the walls (and air) from both the original liquid and the clean up. That place is going to need an overhaul just because of the moisture.

 

[asscherisme]

Date: 8/18/2009 6:45:37 PM
Author: mayachel
Oh meresel, that is just the worst! YICK. I''m so sorry this is what you had to come home to. You were absolutely right to make them remove that carpet and padding, yi gads, I can''t believe they thought just shampooing was enough? Besides the obvious, I''d also be concerned about mold in the walls (and air) from both the original liquid and the clean up. That place is going to need an overhaul just because of the moisture.

Yup. moisture and mold. A big health risk. The company we used brought in several industrial strenth dehumidiers as well as fans after all the carpet/padding and wet drywall and baseboard were removed. And they left them there for days (there was a moisture meter on them). They also told me to not recarpet for a few weeks to let it all air out more. They did a fabulous job.

 

[phoenixgirl]

We had sewage backup in our basement (twice) because roots had grown in the 90 year old city sewage pipes and the pipe was 70% clogged. The catalyst was user-error, though, as DH had gotten sick in the bathroom, and I had declared that I couldn't deal with cleaning it up, so he did and unbeknownst to me had flushed a million paper towels and Lysol wipes down the toilet . . . (men

). Do you remember doing anything like that?

When we had RotoRooter do the video, we had proof that the backup/root problem was on city property, not ours, which meant that ripping up the sidewalk and replacing the pipe was their responsibility (although we were still out $500 times two for each time RotoRooter came). Big relief! We just had a little backup on a concrete floor, so the cleanup wasn't that intensive, but I did use a professional post-accident cleaning company (I think it was ServePro) after a fire. You definitely want professionals who know what they're doing when you're dealing with hazardous material.

I'd contact your insurance company. When I had the fire, it turned out that I had the same insurance company as the condo association, which made things easier, but I did learn that with this type of claim the insurance will investigate to see if it's the fault of the renter or the complex. So your insurance company may be your greatest ally as it would be in their best interest for them to prove that the backup is the complex's fault/responsibility, and then they'll do the fighting for you. Of course, on the flip side, they might just give you the runaround and tell you to use your complex's insurance.

 

[Tuckins1]

Eew.

 

[Rod]

Merasal, I''m so sorry to see about the sewer backup. We had a flood in our condo not too long ago and while it was just water and not backed up sewage, the inconvenience and worry about mold, mildew and odor is similar. We were lucky that we don''t have carpet, so that wasn''t an issue for us. But we hired a Disaster Recovery company who specializes in ensuring there can be no mold or odor issues. And they did an outstanding job, so while it was a bit inconvenient for a several days, it was well worth the expense. I do think you have every right to insist on having the carpet and padding replaced. I would recommend before they put new pad and carpet down, you use some kind of plastic barrier to make sure nothing was absorbed into the floor beneath the carpet and can''t leak through over time.

Anyway, I''m sorry you''ve had to go through this, especially on the heals of such a wonderful celebration in your life.......

 

[meresal]

Thank you all for your replies. Every little bit is helping.

When I leave work at the end of the day, I no longer have access to a computer, so I apologize for not replying last night.

I went by the apt again, and all of the carpeting and padding has been ripped up and all blowers and de-humidifiers are still there. It smells so much better. I don''t like that they left it in there so long, just absorbing that mildew smell. What disgusted me when I walked thru, was that they have not removed the baseboards in the BATHROOMS!! The master bathroom, which DH and I didn''t discover until Monday, smells awful still. The office opens in about 15 minutes, so I''ll be calling about that, and to inquire about any options we have for relocating apartments entirely. Everytime I think of taking a shower in the bathroom, I just can''t imagine I''ll ever "really" feel clean again.

We may have to put up with a smaller place, but I think we could get by, and heck, it would mean less rent for the last 9 months of our lease.

Per you advice, I''m calling the municipal waste department this morning. I want to make sure we cross off everything before putting the carpet back down. I''m taking a half day at work to be there when they start putting everything back in.

Phoenix- What is shocking is that the worst back-up was in our guest hall bathroom... and in the 2.5 years we have lived there, it has only been used, maybe 30 times. DH can tend to use too much toilet paper at times, but we never put anything but that in. The other weird thing, is that we didn''t have any storms while we were gone, so we''re left very puzzled as to why this might have happened, and why in the world we were the only unit it happened to?

Asscher- I''m sorry, I don''t think I was clear in the second post, we are definitely have ALL the carpet and padding replaced. About the pictures... I was very dissapointed that the apartment bldg didn''t take any to show us when we returned. That also added to the very "hush-hush" feel I got about the whole thing. I worry that if this had happened earlier in our trip, they would have just kept with their story that it was water damage and let us go about living there.

However, since DH and I discovered the master bedroom/bathroom, we got to see first hand and take our own pictures. This is the point when we demanded that all the carpeting and padding be replaced completely. Water damage my a$$.