Flood Damage Cleanup - Clean Up the Debris and the Bitter Memory

After a flood, the most daunting task is the flood damage cleanup. The microorganisms breed very fast on stagnant water; this is why drying up should be the top priority. After returning to your damaged home if you discover that the knee-deep water has still not receded then instead of panicking you should plan how to drain out the water first.

Adding chlorine bleach to standing water should be the 'first thing to do'. Bleach is to protect you and your family from the microbial health hazards, especially when you go through the tedious process of flood damage cleanup.

Flood damage cleanup is a Herculean task and that is why you need to it in shifts. The most important task is to drain out the water from your home slowly. Draining out water can be very dangerous as the water soak into and dampen walls and floors, which may collapse at any point of time. This might happen because of the enormous pressure of water.

The safest way to drain out the water is by doing it in parts. Such as, on the first day drain out one third of the whole volume and the rest in two more days. You can use pumps, buckets, or pails to remove the standing water. Now, once the floor is completely visible then you can start mopping it up. You can also dry the remaining wet spots with your vacuum cleaner, as it would help you in wrapping up the whole flood damage cleanup process fast.

An important thing to note in a flood damage cleanup procedure is to ensure that the room heaters or thermostats are not set at more than 4 degree Celsius or 40 degree Fahrenheit until your home is completely dry. Along with this, if you plan to use heaters or gas powered pumps then you must get a carbon monoxide sensor first. This is because all these devices can produce heavy and lethal amounts of carbon monoxide if improperly ventilated causing severe health issues.

The next step in a flood damage cleanup process is to remove the debris and the dirt. You should discard the debris along with all the soaked and damaged materials and furniture. Along with this, you should also remove the wood paneling, insulation and break down the damaged walls. Take out all the furniture, clothing, appliances, and beddings. Then you should hose down the soil and mud sticking all over your house. You must make sure that there is enough ventilation for the fumes to go out before you start wiping or washing the surfaces with chlorine bleach. As a precaution, you can wear a charcoal respirator while working with the chlorine bleach in an enclosed space.

It would be good if you wipe the surfaces that have not been wet or soaked in the floodwater with a very effective solution of four parts of cold water to one part of chlorine bleach. You can mix it with a non-ammonia dishwasher detergent powder and then rinse it off. When molds appear you can apply chlorine bleach directly, and then flush the whole floor to drain out the undiluted chlorine bleach.

After draining out the floodwater, you must clean the whole floor as quickly as possible. You should also replace the flooring that has been wet, warped, and soaked by the sewage or the flood water as the 'finishing touch' of the flood damage cleanup process.

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