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Water Damage Health Risks: General Guidance

Water damage raises questions about health, and those questions deserve a careful answer. A home with standing water, sewage, or mold after a loss is a home where people want to know whether it is safe to stay, whether the children can use their rooms, and what the risks are. Those are serious questions, and they deserve more than a quick reassurance. They deserve general guidance that is honest about what it can and cannot say.

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This guide gives general guidance only. It makes no health claims, it gives no diagnosis, and it gives no medical advice. It explains, in general terms, the risks that come with sewage and floodwater, the reasons to avoid contact with contaminated water, and the reasons not to enter a flooded building. For anything beyond that, it points to professional guidance, of the medical kind as well as the restoration kind.

General guidance only

This guide is general guidance, and that limit matters. It cannot say whether any specific person has been affected by water damage, sewage, or mold, because that depends on the person, the property, and the extent of the problem. It cannot say whether a specific home is safe to stay in, because that depends on the property and what an inspection finds. And it cannot give medical advice, because medical advice comes from a medical professional who knows the person concerned. Anyone with a health concern after a water loss should seek professional guidance of the medical kind.

What general guidance can do is set out the principles that apply in most cases: avoid contact with contaminated water, do not enter flooded buildings, do not handle electrics in standing water, and call a professional for the cleanup. Those principles are the same across California, whatever the property and whatever the water loss. They are the starting point for any decision about a home after a water loss, and they are the subject of the rest of this guide.

Avoid contact with sewage and floodwater

Sewage and floodwater are treated as Category 3 black water in general terms, and they carry bacteria and other contaminants that can cause illness. The risk comes from contact: stepping in the water, touching it, handling belongings that have been in it, or breathing in droplets from it. The contamination is not visible, and it cannot be judged by the colour or the smell of the water. A flood that looks like ordinary muddy water can carry sewage, chemicals, and debris, and a sewage backup that looks like a small puddle can carry the same contaminants as a large one.

Avoiding contact means staying out of the affected area, keeping children and pets out of it, and not trying to clean the water up yourself. It means not handling belongings that have been in the water, and not moving furniture out of the affected area without protective equipment. The sewage cleanup page and the flood damage cleanup page both describe the professional response in general terms, and both carry the same safety message. If you have come into contact with sewage or floodwater, wash the skin thoroughly with soap and clean water, and seek professional medical guidance if you are concerned.

Water Damage Health Risks: General Guidance — California water damage restoration guide

Do not enter flooded buildings

Do not enter a building that is flooded, and do not wade through standing water inside a home. Floodwater can hide sharp debris under the surface, it can be deeper than it looks, and it can be in contact with electrical outlets, switches, or appliances. A floor that has been under water can be slippery, or damaged, or weakened, and it may not hold your weight. The water itself may be contaminated, and the risk of contact is the same inside a building as it is outside.

If water is still rising, leave the property by a dry route if you can do so safely, and call for help. Do not try to save belongings from a flooded room, because the risk is not worth it. If the water has stopped rising and you are outside the flooded area, keep the doors to the affected rooms closed, so that the water does not get tracked into clean rooms. The same rule applies to rooms where sewage water is standing: do not enter them, and do not wade through the water to reach something on the other side. No belonging is worth the risk.

When to seek professional guidance

Seek professional guidance when the water loss involves sewage or floodwater, when the affected area is large, when the water may have reached inside walls or under floors, or when anyone in the household has a health concern. Professional guidance comes in two kinds, and both matter. Restoration guidance comes from a professional who has seen the property, and it covers the inspection, the cleanup, the drying, and the repair. Medical guidance comes from a medical professional, and it covers any health concern that follows a water loss.

Neither kind of guidance can be given from a guide, and neither should be sought from one. A restoration professional needs to see the property to judge the extent of the problem, and a medical professional needs to know the person to judge any health effect. The water damage restoration service covers the wider response in general terms. Homeowners in water damage restoration in San Francisco and across California should use the same rule after any water loss that involves contaminated water: stay out of the water, keep the family away from it, call a professional for the cleanup, and seek medical guidance for any health concern.

A calm approach to a worrying subject

A calm approach to a worrying subject is the most useful thing a homeowner can take from this guide, because water damage raises questions about health, and those questions are frightening when they are asked in the middle of a flood. The principles are simple, and they do not change: avoid contact with contaminated water, do not enter flooded buildings, do not handle electrics in standing water, and call a professional for the cleanup. Those principles are the same across California, whatever the property and whatever the water loss, and they are the starting point for any decision about a home after a water loss.

Beyond those principles, the guidance divides into two kinds, and both matter. Restoration guidance comes from a professional who has seen the property, and it covers the inspection, the cleanup, the drying, and the repair. Medical guidance comes from a medical professional, and it covers any health concern that follows a water loss. Neither kind of guidance can be given from a guide, and neither should be sought from one. A restoration professional needs to see the property to judge the extent of the problem, and a medical professional needs to know the person to judge any health effect. Keep the record, follow the principles, and seek the right kind of guidance for each question.

Children deserve a simple explanation, in plain language, because they will ask what has happened, and they need an answer they can understand. Tell them that the water is not safe to touch, that the affected room is out of bounds, and that a professional is coming to deal with it. Do not frighten them, and do not give them details they do not need, but do not leave them to guess, either, because a child who does not understand the danger is a child who will walk into the affected room. Keep them out of the area, keep their toys and bedding out of it, and let them know when the room is ready to use again.

Key Takeaways

This guide is general guidance, and that limit matters.
Sewage and floodwater are treated as Category 3 black water in general terms, and they carry bacteria and other contaminants that can cause illness.
Do not enter a building that is flooded, and do not wade through standing water inside a home.
Seek professional guidance when the water loss involves sewage or floodwater, when the affected area is large, when the water may have reached inside walls or under floors, or when anyone in the household has a health concern.
A calm approach to a worrying subject is the most useful thing a homeowner can take from this guide, because water damage raises questions about health, and those questions are frightening when they are asked in the middle of a flood.

Your Next Step

If this guide matches what you found at home, the next step is a visit — not a guess. Call and describe what you found, and the visit is arranged from what you describe. The Water Damage Restoration page explains what that service covers, and the Water Damage Restoration page explains what that service covers, and the services hub lists every service in one place.

Do not use a household vacuum on standing water while you wait, and if water is still coming in, turn off the shut-off valve for that fixture where you can reach it safely.

Keep the guides on this site bookmarked: the first guide, the signs guide, and the preparation guide cover the checks worth repeating — after moving in, and after bringing used fixtures home.

Water damage help is available across California. See water damage restoration in Lytle Creek, CA for one local example, or find your town on the service areas page.