Cleaning Up After a Flood

November 11, 2009 Comment

Flooding on the east coast of the United States has been awful this week. The flooding continues and now the clean up begins. I hope the following tips will help. Please pass this link along to anyone you know who may bne going to help or who may live in a flooded area.

When homes flood, the water can wreak havoc on the structure of your home, your personal belongings, and your health. After a flood, cleaning up is a long and hard process, but if it is begun immediately many family treasures can be saved.

As with every disaster, whether it is hurricanes, floods, fire, earthquakes, or tornadoes, your first response should be to call your insurance agent and begin taking lots and lots of pictures. Call your insurance agent no matter what time of the day or night. The sooner you call the higher you are on the priority list. Even if you are not sure of the extent of the damage, call. If you wait for your agent to show up, it may be too late to save some of your most valued possessions. So begin clean up — but never before taking lots of pictures. Take photos constantly during the process. Document everything.

As you begin, take precautions to protect yourself and all those who may be helping. Be sure everyone wears gloves, boots, goggles and masks. Masks become increasingly important as days pass and mold grows. Items that are wet quickly develop potentially deadly molds and fungus. You should have N95 medical masks in your 72-hour kits and pandemic supplies. Use them. They will protect against bacteria and other small spores that an ordinary mask from a home improvement center will not.

One of the greatest health risks following a flooding emergency comes from standing water. Standing water is not only a breeding ground for microorganisms, but it also harbors mosquitoes. Bacteria, viruses, and mold grow quickly on wet and damp items. These can become airborne and inhaled, putting everyone at risk for lung diseases and complications for those with asthma and other respiratory ailments.

Now that you are properly clothed and ready to work you can begin:

If mold and mildew have already developed, brush off items outdoors to prevent scattering spores in the house.
Shovel out as much mud as possible , then use a garden hose to wash away any remaining. Be sure to have someone assigned to sweep the water out of the house as you do this.
Clean and disinfect every surface . Scrub surfaces using a heavy-duty disinfecting cleaner. The key here is to scrub making sure you get the cleaner into the small crevices. Be sure the product you use is designed to kill germs. If you do not have access to a commercial product, use a bleach mixture. Combine 1/4 cup bleach with 1 gallon of cool water. For smaller jobs or if you have a smaller bucket, use1 tablespoon of bleach to 1 quart of cool water. It is vital that you thoroughly dry all surfaces after they have been treated. Use small fan and open all the doors and windows to circulate air.

To clean glass, porcelain, china, plastic dinnerware and enamelware, soak for 10 minutes in a disinfecting solution. Air-dry dishes. Do not towel dry. These items are safe to place outside to dry.

Disinfect silverware, metal utensils, pots and pans, and all other metal items by boiling in water for 10 minutes. Bleach should not be used because it reacts with many metals and causes them to darken. Again, air dry.

Cupboards and counters need to be cleaned and rinsed with a disinfecting solution before placing anything back in the cupboards. Again it is very important that the walls, doors and shelves all be completely dry. This may take a few days, depending on weather conditions.

Take furniture, bedding and clothing outside to dry as soon as possible. When possible, place furniture in a shaded area to help prevent warping of the wood and fading of fabrics. If you cannot start right away to wash clothing and bedding, hang it on a clothes line or in trees to dry. Better yet, see if friends outside the flood zone would take over washing and drying these items as a service project for you. Some who cannot stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you, may be able to help in this way. Since the ground will undoubtedly be damp, do not lay items on the ground to dry.

Mattresses should be thrown away. Unfortunately there is no safe way to disinfect a mattress. Do not take any chances.

Upholstered furniture is also very difficult to properly disinfect. Have it cleaned by someone specializing in this type of clean-up.

Wood veneer furniture will usually not survive a flood well. Unless an item has great sentimental value, it is probably not worth trying to restore. Solid wood furniture, however, can usually be restored if it is dried out slowly and immediately.

Soft toys, stuffed animals and pillows should also be thrown away.

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Photographs, books and important papers can often be salvaged. They should be gently rinsed off in a bucket of clean water. Carefully separate papers and photos, and rinse. Never use running water to clean photos and papers. Never rub the surface, simply swish the item through the water. Do not rub to dry them.

Place cleaned items on absorbent paper or towels to dry. Never use printed paper towels; use plain white paper towels only. Never use newspaper, because the inks will ruin damaged photos or papers. Change the towels or paper every few hours to aid in drying. Do not dry items in the sun. Place a fan nearby to aid in drying. You can also dry items by using a clothes line and clothespins, but this may damage corners.

If you cannot dry items immediately, clean them and stack a few together. Place them in a resealable bag and place them in the freezer. When you have the ability remove a few, lay them out and dry them. They should be dried carefully and slowly.

Check back tomorrow for more clean-up tips.

DON’T FORGET OUR RAFFLE!