What Kind Of Wastewater Do You Have?

Nothing is worse than walking into a room with standing water. Whether it’s a small puddle, or several inches, your mind quickly races to: What now?

Quick action is key. It can make all the difference to how much damage your house sustains. 

While the first step is getting to the root of the problem and stopping the water flow, the next is to determine what type of wastewater you have. 

Clean Water

Clean water doesn’t pose an immediate threat to humans. Clean water floods can result from a variety of malfunctions throughout your home, such as a toilet tank breaking, or rain water seeping in through a crack. Clean water flooding is safe for you to clean. However, it is important to get to the root cause. If you don’t fix the problem, the flood will continue. And standing water can turn to greywater in as little as a couple of days. 

Greywater

Greywater refers to any type of wastewater that is not contaminated with fecal matter. This could include wastewater from all of your major appliances – washing machine and dishwasher – as well as from your bathtub and shower. Greywater can include a small amount of contaminants if ingested. That’s why you’ll often see signs in communities that use greywater for landscaping that it’s non-potable water. 

Greywater flooding usually occurs when an appliance malfunctions or a leaking or broken plumbing pipe. It can quickly saturate carpeting, drywall, floor boards, furniture, and other personal belongings. Because it can contain contaminants, it is important to clean up the water as quickly as possible, and decontaminate the area to ensure no trace remains. 

Blackwater

Blackwater refers to wastewater that is contaminated with human waste. Raw sewage is blackwater. Blackwater contains dangerous bacteria and pathogens, and must be fully cleaned up and decontaminated before a person can return home. 

When it comes to home flooding, blackwater is by far the most dangerous. The first step is getting everyone in your family to safety. Then time is of the essence; the quicker you get someone in, the easier it will be to start the process of restoring your home back to the way it was. 

If you have a plumbing emergency, don’t wait. Call R.S. Andrews at 770-913-6412 for Atlanta emergency plumbing services as quickly as possible.