How To Clean Up A House Flood

As part of our How To Clean Up A House Flood series, here is the next installment: How To Clean Up A Flood Step By Step: First Steps.

FIRST STEPS TO CLEANING UP A HOUSE FLOOD:

1. Store valuable papers that have been damaged in a freezer until you have time to work on them. Remove standing water with pumps or pails, then with a wet/dry shop vacuum.
2. Remove all soaked and dirty materials and debris, including wet insulation and drywall, residual mud and soil, furniture, appliances, clothing and bedding.
3. Hose down any dirt sticking to walls and furnishings, then rinse several times, removing the remaining water with a wet/dry shop vacuum. Rinse, then clean all floors as quickly as possible. Flooring that has been deeply penetrated by flood water or sewage should be discarded.
4. Work from the top down. Break out all ceilings and walls that have been soaked or that have absorbed water. Remove materials at least 500 mm (20 in.) above the high-water line. Removing only the lower part of the wall applies if action is taken immediately after the flood or wetting event. Gypsum board walls that have been exposed to high humidity or standing water for a prolonged period of time should be removed in their entirety and discarded. Ceiling tiles and panelling should be treated like drywall.

Read the remaining steps 5 to 11 here: How To Clean Up A Flood Step By Step: First Steps

Check back for our next blog where we wrap up this flood cleaning how to series with Flooding: What To Keep & Before; You Move Back In.