10 Things You Can Do to Repair Flood Damage

Floods are responsible for a serious amount of damages to a lot of homes each year. There is a huge number of people all around the world that lose a lot of money in property damage caused by melting snow or torrential rain. Furthermore, standing water is a perfect place for microbes, harmful microorganisms, and this is why floods are a serious threat, causing diseases and illnesses.

This is why a thorough and careful clean-up after a flood is very important for both minimizing property damage and avoiding any and all health issues. If you did not manage to prepare your house against floods, you can take these necessary steps to reduce the damages and to get your home back on its feet.

Step 1: Insurance

Contact your insurance company. Report the flood and take pictures of all the damages before you start cleaning. You can also capture your cleaning activities. This is very important to do because without proof, you won’t be able to validate your insurance claims and you will be forced to pay for all the repairs yourself.

Step 2: Pump Out the Water

Dry all the water out. Use a pump if there is a good amount of water flooding the rooms. If the water level is low and can’t be pumped out, you can turn on your heating system to dry the water out. Open the windows and doors so that the steam can get out.

Step 3: Take Care of Any Mud

Clean up the mud. Once you get all of the water out, it’s time to clean up the mud that was left behind. Put on rubber gloves and boots, take a shovel and clean as much mud as possible. You can use the hose to clean the parts that are unreachable.

Step 4: Make Space

Take all the furniture from the previously flooded areas out. Put all the wet rugs, sofas, chairs on the sun and clean them, disinfect and repair. Items that are beyond repair should be thrown out.

Step 5: Clean All the Rooms

Once there is no furniture left inside, its time to disinfect and clean the premises. Use a huge container to fill it with warm water. Put two tablespoons of bleach per one gallon. With this mixture, you should scrub all of the floors, shelves and walls that were contaminated by the flood water.

Step 6: Dry Flooded Areas

Remove the moisture from your home by turning on AC units and fans. Open all windows to allow fresh air to come in. After you’ve done this, use a vacuum cleaner to remove all of the mold. Check your insulation, if it’s been dampened, replace it with a new one.

Step 7: Clean Books and Photos

Clean of your books and photos using a wet cloth and a mild chemical to avoid damaging them. After you’ve done that, dry them in a ventilated location.

Step 8: Get Rid of Destroyed Things

There are certain things that must be thrown out after the flood, including wet clothes, mattresses and toys made out of cloth. They have been in contact with flood water that may host bacteria that can cause infections. Also, make sure that you dispose of all of the food affected by the flood.

Step 9: Wash Your Clothes

Once you are done with all the cleaning, you must wash off your clothes as well. Put them in warm water and soak them with a detergent. Let them stand like that for at least an hour, to make sure that all of the dangerous chemicals have disappeared.

Step 10: Check Your Electrical Systems

Call your electrician. All of your wiring and electrical systems may get damaged during a flood. This is why you must call a specialist to check your whole place before you can return to your regular old life. If you don’t have the necessary knowledge, don’t do this by yourself, as it is a really dangerous process. If you make one wrong step, you may seriously injure yourself.

After you’ve finished cleaning your home, avoid drinking tap water right away. It can still be contaminated and you should only drink bottled water until you have checked and established that your water is clean and healthy. To do this, just call your local health department.