2 Critical Things To Do After A Flood
Floods are a type of natural disaster that can strike practically anywhere in the United States. Whether it’s because of a heavy spring melt, a major rainstorm, or a hurricane, if the ground can’t absorb all the water or the local river can’t drain it all fast enough, a town will suffer a flood and all the troubles that come with it.
But once the waters recede and you’re allowed to go home, what happens next? Here are just a couple things to keep in mind as you sort through what’s left of your house.
Don’t Trust The Utilities
As far as gas, electricity, and water go, you shouldn’t trust any of them until you’ve heard both that they’ve been restored for your neighborhood and that your house’s connections are in proper working order. Until then, you should be ready to rely on backup batteries and generators, bottled water, and flood waters with bleach added to use for hygiene.
Hunt Down All The Mold
Between all the water and all the mud and debris, the days following a flood are a golden growing season for mold. Although you can successfully disinfect most clothing, just about everything else that’s made from fibers has to go away for good. This includes books and other paper products, drywall, insulation, carpets, rugs, mattresses, upholstery, and even floor and ceiling tiles. Leather, wood, and food items are also no longer safe.
However, while you need to remove these items from your house, you should still keep them in storage somewhere until your insurance claims go through. Insurance adjusters may ask to see the items you need to replace, and they may grow suspicious if all you can say is that you’ve already thrown them out.
If you find that you have to clean mold out of more than a small area, or if you think the flood waters have soaked their way into the wood of the house itself, you may be best off hiring a professional mold remediation service rather than trying to tackle the entire house by yourself. Such services may even be subsidized by the relief funds or else by your flood insurance.
At AA Action Waterproofing, we offer mold remediation services both to those suffering from normal mold infestations and to those affected by floods. If you live in Pennsylvania, Maryland, DC, Delaware, or Virginia and you have a mold problem, call us today for a free estimate. We’ll do all that we can to bring your life back to normal as fast as possible.