Standing sewage in an external courtyard
The two-person team completed the work during the same day the incident was raised. By the end of the attendance, the standing sewage had been extracted, contaminated shingle removed, affected surfaces and items cleaned, and the courtyard sanitised.
The result was a clean and tidy external area following a structured sewage-cleaning process, with the contaminated material identified within the agreed work removed from the courtyard.
The incident affected the courtyard of a garden flat within a residential block. Standing sewage and human waste were present in the external area, with contamination also affecting the pea shingle.
Because contaminated liquid and affected material both needed to be dealt with, the response combined extraction, physical cleaning, sanitisation and removal of shingle that could not simply be cleaned in place.
The process we used for the clean-up
The work was completed during a single attendance, following a practical sequence from initial documentation through to final clean-down.
Step 1Preparing for contaminated workThe technicians used full personal protective equipment before entering the affected area. Before photographs were taken to document the condition of the courtyard prior to cleaning.
Step 2Extracting the standing sewageStanding sewage was extracted from the courtyard so the team could move from bulk removal to detailed cleaning of the affected external area.
Step 3Washing down the affected areaWith the standing sewage removed, the courtyard received a full wash-down to remove residual contamination from the surfaces being treated.
Step 4Cleaning contaminated itemsItems affected by the spill were wiped down as part of the decontamination process rather than being left untreated within the cleaned area.
Step 5Removing contaminated shingleFive bags of contaminated pea shingle were bagged and removed from the courtyard, taking affected material out of the area rather than attempting to leave it in place.
Step 6Sanitising and completing the cleanThe affected area was sanitised as part of the final decontamination stage. After photographs were taken and the courtyard was left clean and tidy.
The courtyard garden in Eastbourne showing before and after a sewage clean-up by Ideal Response technicians.
Why extraction alone was not enough
Removing the standing sewage dealt with the most visible part of the incident, but it did not complete the decontamination. Residues remained on courtyard surfaces and contaminated material was present within the pea shingle.
The response therefore moved from extraction into wash-down, item cleaning, removal of contaminated shingle and sanitisation. Treating those as separate stages helped address both the liquid waste and the materials it had affected.
A same-day response from arrival to final clean-down
Why contaminated materials sometimes need to be removed
Project insight
This project demonstrates the difference between sewage extraction and sewage decontamination. The standing waste was removed first, but the response continued through wash-down, cleaning of affected items, removal of contaminated shingle and sanitisation before the courtyard was left clean and tidy.
Renatas Rinkevicius
Exterior Cleaning Specialist
“With a sewage spill, removing the standing liquid is only the first stage. You also have to look at what that sewage has come into contact with. In this courtyard, the pea shingle was contaminated, so part of the response was to bag and remove the affected material before completing the clean and sanitisation. That is different from treating a sound, cleanable surface in place.”
