Flood Damage Cleanup: Be Ready With Your Checklist

You can always hire a professional company to do the flood damage cleanup in your home or you can decide to work on the cleanup process yourself. Whichever path you wish to take with the flood damage clean up in your home, you will need to make a checklist of several things that you should and shouldn't do during the whole flood damage cleanup process. First, before doing any work on your home you must remember that your family's safety and health are your priority.

All the work that you will do during the whole process of flood damage cleanup should therefore revolve around your family's safety. Also, do not forget the safety gears. You will need splash rain boots with thick soles, rubber gloves, goggles, and a dust mask or face mask. You should also check for any structural damages in your home before the water restoration company arrives or before you begin clearing out the flood. Make sure to document all the damages especially for insurance purposes.

If there are too many wall cracks or if the structural damages to your property are severe, you may want to postpone clearing the flood water until you get professional opinion regarding the stability of your home. Next, take photos and document all the damaged items that you will be discarding. You will have to throw away many things in your home. It is a difficult process that needs to be done. Write down or take photos of the items/materials you are discarding so that you don't get confused after the clean-up process if you discarded an item or if you might have just misplaced it.

You will also need the photos of the damaged items for insurance claims. When you proceed with the actual procedure, the first step to flood damage cleanup is clearing the water from your home through pumping or draining. The method you will use will depend on the severity of the flood in your home. If there are at least several feet of water, you will definitely need a sump pump to pump the water out of your home. You can purchase a sump pump or you can just rent one out from an equipment company. You will also need a wet vacuum to suck out excess water from the floors, carpets and furniture.

These flood damage cleanup equipments can either be purchased or rented if you choose to do the work yourself. After you are finished clearing out the water from your home, you need to clean and sanitize the floors and all the surfaces that came in contact with the flood water. Roll up the carpets and take them out of the house together with the furniture that needs to be cleaned and dried. Before you clean the entire house make sure you read the labels on the cleaners so that you will know if they will work with the surface or the material of the items you are cleaning. You can also use a chlorine solution to sanitize your home by mixing 8 tablespoons of laundry bleach with a gallon of water.

Remember not to mix ammonia-based products with chlorine because this will result in dangerous fumes. Remember to open all the doors and windows during the flood damage cleanup so that air will circulate and help dissipate any foul odor or fumes in your home.

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