Sometimes, mother nature takes over, and your home gets hit with floodwater. When floodwater hits your home, it is essential to know what to do to clean up your property once the water recedes.
Inspect Your Property in a Safe Manner
First, when you return to your home, you will need to do so in a safe manner. You are going to want to wear long sleeves and pants and tall waterproof boots to stay safe. You should bring waterproof gloves as well.
Visually check and ensure that there are no power lines down on your property. If power lines are down, call the electric company and wait for them to fix the power lines before proceeding further onto your property.
With extensive water damage, you will want to contact your gas and electric provider and have them turn off service until a professional can inspect all lines and ensure it is safe for the gas and power to be on.
As you walk around, watch out for snakes and other insects that may have been attracted due to the changing environment. Take pictures of everything as you walk around. You can share these with your insurance company and damage restoration company.
Use battery-powered lights to look around. Open windows to aid in ventilation, and be careful as you inspect things.
Remove Damaged Content
Second, you are going to want to remove materials that are damaged from your property. Don't throw it away until the insurance adjuster stops by to see the material. You are going to want to pull out carpets and rugs, as well as the padding underneath them, to get rid of all the contamination that is contained inside the rugs. All highly absorbent things, such as upholstered furniture and mattresses will need to be thoroughly dried or replaced.
As for appliances, you will want to get them inspected by a professional before trying to turn them on again. All food should be thrown away; assume it is all bad.
Clean Up
After you have documented everything and pulled out damaged personal property, it is time to start the cleanup process. You may have to literally shovel silt and dirt out of your home and spray down hard surfaces with a garden hose.
You are going to need to run dehumidifiers and fans to dry everything out. You are going to need to do this for several weeks to dry the place out. You are going to want to clean as much as possible to prevent mold growth.
The cleaning process is going to be intensive, and you are going to want to get assistance. You will need to remove damaged building material and allow other material to dry out before knowing everything that will need to be replaced.
Cleaning up after a flood is a lot of work. You are going to want to ensure the environment is safe before checking out your property. You should remove damaged personal property from inside the home, then start the long cleaning process.
Reach out to flood cleaning professionals to get started.
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