What To Keep and What To Toss After a Flood

1/13/2022 (Permalink)

Flood damage a wall in a Flourtown, PA home.

Content Cleaning After a Flood

After flooding, homeowners are faced with the hard labor of cleaning and drying out their homes. When those homes are affected by black water, that hard work often includes tearing out walls, discarding carpeting, and tossing many furnishings and belongings. Fortunately, a content cleaning service from a Flourtown, PA, flood remediation company may be able to save some of the most precious items.

Items You Can Clean on Your Own

For those belongings that haven't been contaminated, you can use the following steps from FEMA for salvaging your valuables:

1. Set aside those things that are most important to you.
   
2. Let items gently air-dry, handling them as little as possible.
   
3. Carefully remove dirt and debris with soft brushes or cloths.
   
4. Rinse and air-dry photographs.
   
5. Freeze any items that you can get to within 48 hours. This protects books and documents from further damage.
   
   

After flood waters have fully receded, it's time to get everything dried out as quickly as possible. Remove wet items from the home, and document the damage while you work with a camera or cell phone.

Belongings That Should Be Discarded

At this point, many homeowners either want to chuck everything or save everything. Neither option is appropriate. Some items must be thrown out. These include composite flooring, particle board furniture, and any furnishings with signs of mildew. Upholstered furniture is often cheaper to replace than to recover. The same is true for mattresses.

Many of your valuables can be saved by professional content cleaning services. For example, if you have silver, contact a qualified restorer. If you have framed art, expensive rugs, or solid-wood furniture, the pieces can be saved if you get them out of the water quickly enough. Contact the appropriate professionals for help in your restoration efforts. Photographs, books, documents, and family heirlooms are usually worth the cost of hiring professionals.

Content cleaning efforts are a vital resource for homeowners who've experienced flooding. Separate out belongings to be discarded, those that can be saved by your own efforts, and those that require the work of professionals for the most successful flood recovery.