Category Three Contamination
Raw sewage is grossly contaminated Category three water carrying bacteria, viruses, protozoa, parasites and endotoxins, including E. coli, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Anything porous it touches is unsalvageable, and the affected area must be treated as contaminated until testing proves otherwise. Contamination also spreads well beyond the visible water line, wicking up drywall, tracking under flooring and aerosolizing into the air of adjacent rooms, which is why the remediation footprint is almost always larger than the wet footprint. There is no shortcut version of this work that is safe.