{"id":331,"date":"2014-08-10T09:00:51","date_gmt":"2014-08-10T09:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.assuranceenvironmental.ca\/blog\/?p=331"},"modified":"2014-08-26T12:40:32","modified_gmt":"2014-08-26T12:40:32","slug":"clean-house-flooding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.assuranceenvironmental.ca\/blog\/2014\/08\/clean-house-flooding\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Clean Your House After Flooding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"floods\"<\/a>Flood water carries many contaminants that can be dangerous if not cleaned properly. For this reason, it is extremely important to clean your house thoroughly after a flood.<\/p>\n

Preparing yourself for clean-up<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Protect yourself from flood water contaminants\u00a0with water-proof shoes (or waders if the water is very deep), heavy-duty plastic gloves and a face mask to avoid inhaling dangerous\u00a0contaminants.<\/p>\n

Removing Excess Water<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If the flood was shallow, simply throwing open a few windows may be a sufficient way\u00a0to remove excess water.<\/p>\n

If flood water is deep, however, pump only a few feet of water out each day to prevent pressure build-up\u00a0which can lead to buckling and cracking of the foundation and wall cavities.<\/p>\n

Flood-soaked Flooring<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Some flooring like linoleum, vinyl and carpet pad absorb water and block evaporation, so they will\u00a0need to be discarded. Carpet and area rugs can be saved with the help of a professional cleaner, but will need to be removed to do so (and to allow\u00a0subflooring\u00a0to dry), which you can do by simply draping it outdoors.<\/p>\n

Wood flooring can be revived by drying it out slowly (to prevent buckling or cracking) and removing planks every few feet to both allow air flow under its surface and prevent unwanted bulges in the floor.<\/p>\n

Drying Walls and Ceilings\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If flood damage<\/a> has consumed most of a wall, the contaminated surface area and underlying drywall may need to be replaced. If only a few inches of the walls have been exposed, however, then patch-work may be sufficient.<\/p>\n

Before replacing drywall,\u00a0make sure\u00a0the wall cavity is sufficiently dried to prevent mildew and further structural damage by cutting holes at the bottom and top of the wall cavity to allow air to pass through. Just make sure locate (and avoid) load-bearing walls. Use a similar process to dry the cavity between ceilings and floors.<\/p>\n

What to do With Insulation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Foam insulation can withstand a flood, but many other types cannot. If your home’s insulation has been damaged by flood water, it needs to be replaced to prevent mold growth. Wet insulation loses its R-value, anyway, and will therefore never be as efficient as it was before the flood.<\/p>\n

Sanitizing Your Kitchen After a Flood<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Any food that has come into contact with flood water needs to be discarded immediately. This includes almost everything in your cupboards except canned foods. Clean dishes with\u00a0bleach, as well, or boil items like flatware\u00a0to avoid the\u00a0chemical reaction that occurs when metal and bleach interact.<\/p>\n

Saving Electronics<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Don’t use any electronics until they’ve been\u00a0professionally inspected. Though a professional can often salvage large-ticket items, smaller items may be easier to replace.Floods can be devastating, but if you act quickly, damage can be minimal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Flood water carries many contaminants that can be dangerous if not cleaned properly. For this reason, it is extremely important to clean your house thoroughly after a flood. Preparing yourself for clean-up Protect yourself from flood water contaminants\u00a0with water-proof shoes … Read More »<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19,8],"tags":[27,15],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.assuranceenvironmental.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.assuranceenvironmental.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.assuranceenvironmental.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.assuranceenvironmental.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.assuranceenvironmental.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.assuranceenvironmental.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":335,"href":"http:\/\/www.assuranceenvironmental.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331\/revisions\/335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.assuranceenvironmental.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.assuranceenvironmental.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.assuranceenvironmental.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}