A flood can happen in your home for any number of reasons. But regardless of why it happened, be it from a plumbing issue that needs fixing or from a natural disaster, what’s important is that you know what to do to help get things back to normal after the flood.
To help you in doing this, here are three tips for cleaning up a flood in your home.
Remove The Water And Dry Everything Out
The first thing that you want to do after there’s been a flood in your home but the flood waters aren’t rising anymore is to work to remove the water.
For safety purposes, you’ll want to make sure you’ve turned off your utilities before you attempt to remove standing water from your home. Additionally, you’ll also want to wear safety gear like boots and gloves that will protect your skin from harm and damage. With these things taken care of, you can begin either pumping the water out of your home or bailing the water out if a pump isn’t available.
Once you’ve been able to get the majority of the standing water out of your home, you’ll want to start drying everything out as best as you can. If you have a wet/dry vacuum, this can help a lot with getting water removed that you couldn’t scoop you. You should also use as many fans as you have available to you to dry things out, too.
Use Bleach To Disinfect
When you’ve had water sitting in your home, there’s a good chance that you’ll have mold spores and other harmful bacteria starting to form and collect. If left unchecked, these spores could grow into very unsafe mold that your family shouldn’t be around.
To get rid of this, you’ll want to scrub down all of your walls, the floor, and anything else that the flood water has touched with a bleach solution. This will help to kill off these germs and keep mold and other spores from growing.
Know When To Bring In Professionals
Sometimes, you simply can’t do the necessary clean up after a flooded home all by yourself. Especially if the damage is extensive or the water that’s coming into your home is unsafe, you’re going to want to call in a professional to help you get things back to how they were before.
Professionals can help check out your HVAC system to make sure that it’s safe to use again, they can detect mold that may have been missed when you cleaned up yourself, and they can help with things like replacing carpet and fixing other structural elements that may have been damaged.
If you need to clean up your home after a flood, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you do this safely and efficiently.
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