How to Clean Up Flood Damage
Flooding from a severe storm can leave you feeling like your home will never dry out. Following an organized checklist and knowing which items you can keep verses those that you need to toss calms down the overwhelming sense of dread that can stem from a flooded-out home.
Things You'll Need:
- Number of insurance agent
- Cameras
- Pen, paper and pencil
- Rubber gloves
- Heavy-duty boots
- Protective mask
- 1/4 cup chlorinated bleach (more as needed)
- 1 gallon water (more as needed)
- Scrub brush
- Hose
- Multiple sized plastic bags
- Vacuum with attachable hoze
- Call your insurance agent to set the ball rolling to recover losses from the flood. Snap photos and compile a complete list of everything that retained damage.
- Gather together cleaning safety gear including rubber gloves, heavy-duty boots and a mask to help prevent breathing in potentially toxic mold.
- Open all the doors and windows to dry out the air and ventilate the area you are working on.
- Mix together a cleaning solution of ¼ cup of chlorine bleach combined with a gallon of water.
- Hang area rugs, curtains and any soiled bedding outside to dry as soon after the flood as possible.
- Place any dishes and other kitchen utensils into the cleaning solution and let soak for 10 minutes.
- Boil your silverware, pots and pans and anything metal in water for 10 minutes. Chlorinated bleach can cause metal to darken. The boiling water removes flood contaminates without hurting the metal utensils.
- Scrub any cabinets and hard surfaces around your home with the chlorinated bleach cleaning solution.
- Attach a cleaning hose to your vacuum cleaner and go over any of your walls or ceiling where mold formed after the flood.
- Throw away any soiled mattresses and pillows because this type of furniture is the perfect breeding ground for mold to form.
- Throw out stuffed animals and toys contaminated by flood waters.
- Remove any insulation touched by the flood because mold can form and remain hidden from view. Fill in the empty areas with new insulation.
- Place important pictures and paper documents into a plastic bag. Put the baggies into a frost-free freezer to preserve them before you're able to take them to a professional who can clean them for you.