Tips For Cleaning Flood Damaged Home
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Walls
Start cleaning a wall at the bottom or where the damage is worse. If you did not have to remove the sheet rock or plaster, you may find it won't come clean and you will want to replace it rather than clean it. If you have removed the sheet rock or plaster, wash the studs and sills and disinfect them.
Furniture
Don't try to force open swollen wooden doors and drawers. Take off the back of the piece of furniture to let the air circulate. Solid wood furniture can usually be repaired and cleaned, but wood veneer often separates and warps. Wood alcohol or turpentine applied with a cotton ball may remove white mildew spots on wood. Upholstered furniture, as well as carpet and bedding, soaks up contaminants from floodwaters and should be cleaned only by a professional.
Appliances
There's a danger of shock with some electrical appliances such as TVs and radios. Certain internal parts store electricity even when the appliance is unplugged. Check the back for a warning label. Appliances with such labels will need professional cleaning. You'll need appliances such as the washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, and vacuum cleaner to help clean your home and contents. Clean and disinfect dishwashers, washing machines, and dryers with safe drinking water. Make sure the sewer line is working before starting a dishwasher or washing machine. You can speed up the drying process by using a blow dryer and moisture-displacement spray, such as WD-40. One word of caution: the spray is flammable. Read and follow label instructions and precautions. Moving parts such as motors and pulleys will need oil or grease. Contacts and electrical switches can be cleaned with a moisture displacement spray or an aerosol contact cleaner. Allow a motor to run for 30 minutes with no load before you use it.Watch for stripped or damaged wire insulation. Be sure all appliances are properly grounded. This is most important if there was damage to the wiring from the flood or during cleaning. Appliances that must be grounded have a round third prong on their plugs. Review the information on your electrical system.
Clothing and Linens
Don't use your washing machine until the water is safe to drink and your sewer line works. Before you wash, run the machine through one full cycle. Be sure to use hot water and a disinfectant or sanitizer. Adding chlorine bleach to the wash cycle will remove most mildew and will sanitize the clothing, but bleach can fade some fabrics and damage others.
Kitchen items
Throw out soft plastic and porous items that probably absorbed whatever the floodwaters carried in. Floodwaters are contaminated, so you may want to wash dishes by hand in a disinfectant. Air dry the dishes. Do not use a towel. Like the washing machine, the dishwasher should also be used only after you know your water is safe to drink and your sewer line works. Clean and disinfect it first. (If you have an energy saving setting, do not use it.)
Food
Throw any food out that has been touched by floodwaters. Even food in tin cans should be discarded if the cans got wet during the flood because there is no way to be absolutely certain the food inside is safe. Do not keep food in bottles or jars with bottle caps or screw on lids--they do not keep out floodwaters.
Paper and books
Valuable papers such as books, photographs, and stamp collections can be restored with a great deal of effort. They can be rinsed and frozen (in a frost-free freezer or commercial meat locker) until you have time to work on them. A slightly less effective alternative to preserving an item is to place items in a sealed container, such as a plastic bag, with moth crystals.
The Yard
Don't turn your yard into a dump. Food and garbage must be hauled away as soon as possible. Other discarded items should be removed as soon as your insurance adjuster has told you how to make sure their loss is covered. Drain or remove standing water that can become a mosquito breeding ground.
Start cleaning a wall at the bottom or where the damage is worse. If you did not have to remove the sheet rock or plaster, you may find it won't come clean and you will want to replace it rather than clean it. If you have removed the sheet rock or plaster, wash the studs and sills and disinfect them.
Furniture
Don't try to force open swollen wooden doors and drawers. Take off the back of the piece of furniture to let the air circulate. Solid wood furniture can usually be repaired and cleaned, but wood veneer often separates and warps. Wood alcohol or turpentine applied with a cotton ball may remove white mildew spots on wood. Upholstered furniture, as well as carpet and bedding, soaks up contaminants from floodwaters and should be cleaned only by a professional.
Appliances
There's a danger of shock with some electrical appliances such as TVs and radios. Certain internal parts store electricity even when the appliance is unplugged. Check the back for a warning label. Appliances with such labels will need professional cleaning. You'll need appliances such as the washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, and vacuum cleaner to help clean your home and contents. Clean and disinfect dishwashers, washing machines, and dryers with safe drinking water. Make sure the sewer line is working before starting a dishwasher or washing machine. You can speed up the drying process by using a blow dryer and moisture-displacement spray, such as WD-40. One word of caution: the spray is flammable. Read and follow label instructions and precautions. Moving parts such as motors and pulleys will need oil or grease. Contacts and electrical switches can be cleaned with a moisture displacement spray or an aerosol contact cleaner. Allow a motor to run for 30 minutes with no load before you use it.Watch for stripped or damaged wire insulation. Be sure all appliances are properly grounded. This is most important if there was damage to the wiring from the flood or during cleaning. Appliances that must be grounded have a round third prong on their plugs. Review the information on your electrical system.
Clothing and Linens
Don't use your washing machine until the water is safe to drink and your sewer line works. Before you wash, run the machine through one full cycle. Be sure to use hot water and a disinfectant or sanitizer. Adding chlorine bleach to the wash cycle will remove most mildew and will sanitize the clothing, but bleach can fade some fabrics and damage others.
Kitchen items
Throw out soft plastic and porous items that probably absorbed whatever the floodwaters carried in. Floodwaters are contaminated, so you may want to wash dishes by hand in a disinfectant. Air dry the dishes. Do not use a towel. Like the washing machine, the dishwasher should also be used only after you know your water is safe to drink and your sewer line works. Clean and disinfect it first. (If you have an energy saving setting, do not use it.)
Food
Throw any food out that has been touched by floodwaters. Even food in tin cans should be discarded if the cans got wet during the flood because there is no way to be absolutely certain the food inside is safe. Do not keep food in bottles or jars with bottle caps or screw on lids--they do not keep out floodwaters.
Paper and books
Valuable papers such as books, photographs, and stamp collections can be restored with a great deal of effort. They can be rinsed and frozen (in a frost-free freezer or commercial meat locker) until you have time to work on them. A slightly less effective alternative to preserving an item is to place items in a sealed container, such as a plastic bag, with moth crystals.
The Yard
Don't turn your yard into a dump. Food and garbage must be hauled away as soon as possible. Other discarded items should be removed as soon as your insurance adjuster has told you how to make sure their loss is covered. Drain or remove standing water that can become a mosquito breeding ground.
