Drying out your home- Water affects a home in three ways:
The water damages materials. Wallboard will disintegrate if it remains wet too long; wood can swell, warp, or rot; electrical parts can short out, malfunction, and cause fires or shock.
Mud, silt and unknown contaminants in the water not only get everything dirty, they also create a health hazard.
Dampness promotes the growth of mildew, a mold or fungus that can grow on everything.
The following steps work on all three of these problems. It is very important that they be followed in order.
Lower the humidity: Everything will dry more quickly and clean more easily if you can reduce the humidity in the home. There are five ways for you to lower the humidity and stop the rot and mildew. But you'll have to delay using some methods if you have no electricity.
Open up the house: If the humidity outside is lower than indoors, and if the weather permits, open all the doors and windows to exchange the moist indoor air for drier outdoor air. Your body will tell if the humidity is lower outdoors. If the sun is out, it should be drier outside. If you have a thermometer with a humidity gauge, you can monitor the indoor and outdoor humidity.
On the other hand, when temperatures drop at night, an open home is warmer and will draw moisture indoors. At night and other times when the humidity is higher outdoors, close up the house.
Open closet and cabinet doors: Remove drawers to allow air circulation. Drawers may stick because of swelling. Don't try to force them. Speed drying by opening up the back of the cabinet to let the air circulate. You will probably be able to remove the drawers as the cabinet dries out.
Use fans: Fans help move the air and dry out your home. Do not use central air conditioning or the furnace blower if the ducts were under water. They will blow out dirty air, that might contain contaminants from the sediment left in the duct work. Clean or hose out the ducts first.
Run dehumidifiers: Dehumidifiers and window air conditioners will reduce the moisture, especially in closed up areas.
Use desiccants: Desiccants (materials that absorb moisture) are very useful in drying closets or other enclosed areas where air cannot move through. Desiccants are usually available at hardware, grocery, or drug stores. Some examples of desiccants include: 1) Chemical dehumidifier packs used for drying boats and damp closets, 2) Cat litter made of clay, and 3) Calcium chloride pellets used for melting ice in the winter. Hang pellets in a pillow case, nylon stocking, or other porous bag. Put a bucket underneath to catch dripping water. Close the closet or area being dried. Be careful. Calcium chloride can burn your skin. It will also make the air salty, so do not use this product near computers or other delicate equipment.
Call a contractor: There are contractors who specialize in drying out flooded buildings. They have large fans and dehumidifiers that can dry out a house in a few days. Look in the yellow pages under Fire and Water Damage Restoration or under Dehumidifying. Be careful about contractors who inflate prices after a disaster and about out-of-town contractors who inflate prices after a disaster and about out-of-town contractors who request payment in advance.
Be patient: Drying your home could take several weeks. Until your home is reasonably dry, damage caused by mildew and decay will continue. The musty odor will remain forever if the home is not thoroughly dried out.
Clean up carefully
After the storm has passed and the waters have receded, it's time to assess the damage and clean up the mess. The American Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency offer the following tips for cleaning your house after a hurricane.
The walls, floors, closets, shelves, contents — every flooded part of your house — should be thoroughly washed and disinfected. Some projects, such as washing clothes, may have to wait until all the utilities are restored. Others may be best done by professionals.
The Red Cross will often distribute cleanup kits after a disaster. These contain many useful items such as a broom, mop, bucket, and cleaning supplies.
Supplies to have on hand include brooms, mops, brushes; buckets, hose; rubber gloves; rags; cleaner; disinfectants; lubricating oil; trash bags; and a hair dryer.
In most cases, household cleaning products will do the job if you use them correctly. Check the label on the products to see how much to use. Some products shouldn't be used on certain materials.Apply cleaner and give it time to work before you mop or sponge it up. Follow directions and all safety precautions on the container.
After cleaning a room or item, go over it again with a disinfectant to kill the germs and smell. You also may need to get rid of mildew, an unwelcome companion to moisture that shows as fuzzy splotches.
Tackle one room at a time. Use a 2-bucket approach: One bucket is for rinse water and one for cleaner. Rinse out your sponge, mop, or cleaning cloth in the rinse bucket. Wring it as dry as possible and keep it rolled up tight as you put it in the cleaner bucket. Let it unroll to absorb the cleaner. Using two buckets keeps most of the dirty rinse water out of your cleaning solution. Replace the rinse water frequently.
Start cleaning a wall at the bottom or where the worst damage was. You may find the wallboard or plaster won't come clean and you'll want to replace it rather than clean it. If you've removed the wallboard or plaster, wash the studs and sills and disinfect them.
If you taped your windows before the storm, clean the tape off as soon as possible. The sun will bake the adhesive into the glass. If glass cleaners don't work, try tar remover, acetone, nail polish remover, or a razor blade.
Furniture: Don't try to force open swollen wooden doors and drawers. Take off the back of the piece of furniture to let the air circulate. You will probably be able to open the drawers after they dry.
Upholstered furniture soaks up contaminants from floodwaters and should be cleaned only by a professional. This is also true of carpets and bedding.
Appliances: There's an unexpected danger of shock with some electrical appliances such as TVs and radios. Certain internal parts store electricity even when the appliance is unplugged. Check the back for a warning label. Appliances with such labels will need professional cleaning. But first, get a cost estimate to see if they are worth saving.
Clean and disinfect dishwashers, washing machines, and dryers only withwater that has been declared safe for drinking. Make sure the sewer line is working before starting a dishwasher or washing machine.
Watch for stripped or damaged wire insulation. Be sure all appliances are properly grounded. This is most important if there was damage to the wiring from the flood or during cleaning. Appliances that must be grounded have a round third prong on their plugs.
Refrigerators and freezers are more complicated. They may have foam insulation and sealed components that suffered little water damage. But those appliances hold food, so they should be cleaned, disinfected, and checked by a professional, or replaced. If your repair person says an expensive appliance should be replaced, get the opinion in writing and discuss it with your insurance adjuster before you spend money for another one.
Clothing and linens: Even if your washing machine did not get wet, do not use it until you know that the water is safe enough to drink and that your sewer line works.
Before you wash clothes in the washing machine, run the machine through one full cycle. Use hot water and a disinfectant or sanitizer.
Take clothes and linens outdoors and shake out dried mud or dirt before you wash them. Hose off muddy items to remove all dirt before you put them in the washer. That way your drain won't clog.
Check the labels on clothes and linens, and wash them in detergent and warm water if possible.
Kitchen items: Throw out soft plastic and porous items that could've absorbed whatever the floodwaters carried in. Floodwaters are contaminated, so you may want to wash dishes by hand in a disinfectant. Air dry the disinfected dishes; do not use a dish towel.
Like the washing machine, the dishwasher should also be used only after you know your water is safe to drink and your sewer line works. Clean and disinfect it first. Then use a hot setting to wash your pots, pans, dishes, and utensils. If you have an energy saving setting, do not use it.
Paper and books: Valuable papers such as books, photographs, and stamp collections can be restored with a great deal of effort. They can be rinsed and frozen (in a frost-free freezer or commercial meat locker) until you have time to work on them. A slightly less effective alternative to preserving an item is to place items in a sealed container, such as a plastic bag, with moth crystals.
Papers should be dried quickly when they are thawed or unsealed (a blow dryer will do). Don't try to force paper products apart, just keep drying them. Photocopy valuable papers and records soon because substances in the water may make them deteriorate.
If a computer disk or tape has valuable information, rinse it in clear water and put it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Later, you can take it to a professional drying center and have the data transferred to a good disk or tape. Many companies that specialize in restoring computers and computer records after a disaster are members of the Disaster Recovery Institute. To find a member company near you, you can call the Institute at (314) 434-2272.
Choosing cleaning products
Cleaners: First choice: Non-sudsing household cleaners; Second choice: Laundry soap or detergent
Disinfectants: First choice: Commercial disinfectants or sanitizers, such as the quaternary, phenolic, or pine oil based ones. (Check labels for the contents); second choice: 1 cup (2 ounces) of laundry bleach for 1 gallon of water.
Mildew removers: First choice: Commercial mildew removers or mildewicides; second choice: Washing soda or tri-sodium phosphate (available at grocery or paint stores).Use 5 tablespoons per gallon of water. Third choice: 1 cup (2 ounces) of laundry bleach for 1 gallon of water. See below about bleach.
Bleach: Liquid chlorine bleach, such as Clorox or Purex bleach, can do a variety of flood clean up jobs. Make sure that 5.25 percent sodium hypochlorite is the only active ingredient. Bleach that has a scent added to improve its smell is available. Don't use dry bleach or any bleach that does not contain chlorine.
Be careful of fumes and wear rubber gloves. Read the safety instructions on the label. Do not mix bleach with other household chemical products, especially ammonia or toilet bowl cleaner; the chemical reaction can create a poisonous gas. Do not use bleach on aluminum or linoleum.
Saving your floor coverings
Small throw rugs can be saved and cleaned in a washing machine.
Indoor-outdoor carpeting can be hosed off and hung up to dry.
Large rugs and those with foam backing should be discarded. (Usually, only valuable carpets are worth the cost of professional cleaning.)
After getting wet, wall-to-wall carpeting usually will not return to its former size and has to be thrown away. Therefore, make the job easier by cutting it in strips and discarding it in pieces that are small enough to be carried. Watch out for the tack-down strips along the wall; they often have nails sticking up to hold the carpet down.
A wall-to-wall carpet that was soaked by clean rainwater can be left in place and dried.
Tile, vinyl and linoleum flooring should be removed if it is warped, loose, or has a foam rubber pad (which should be thrown away).
Choosing a contractor
The American Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency urge homeowners to use caution when working with contractors. If you have been satisfied with work done by licensed local contractors, try them first. If they cannot help you, ask them for recommendations.
If you must hire a contractor you do not know, talk to several contractors before you sign anything. Reputable contractors would agree that you should take the following steps:
Check on the firm's reputation. The local Better Business Bureau, home builders association, or building trades council are excellent sources. Ask if the firm has had unanswered complaints filed against it.
Ask for proof of insurance. Be sure the contractor has disability and worker's compensation insurance. If the contractor is not insured, you may be liable for accidents on your property.
Ask for references. Contractors should be willing to provide names of previous customers. Call some of the customers and ask if they would hire the contractor again.
Ask for a written estimate. Check it to make sure it includes everything you expect the contractor to do. Some contractors charge a fee for an estimate, which can be common when there's a big disaster.
Ask for a contract. The contract should be complete and clearly state all the work, the costs, and the payment schedule. Never sign a blank contract or one with blank spaces. If a lot of money is involved, it may be worth your while to have an attorney look at the contract before you sign it.
Ask for any guarantees in writing. If the contractor provides guarantees, they should be written into the contract, clearly stating what is guaranteed, who is responsible for the guarantee (the dealer, the contractor, or the manufacturer), and how long the guarantee is valid.
Obtain a copy of the final signed contract. Once signed, it is binding on both you and the contractor.
Don't sign off before the job is finished. Don't sign completion papers or make the final payment until the work is completed to your satisfaction. a reputable contractor will not threaten you or pressure you to sign if the job is not finished properly.
Areas recuperating from natural disasters often are prime targets for less-than-honest business activities. Building codes often require that work be done only by licensed contractors. Some building departments and trade associations keep lists of contractors who work in the community.
Be cautious when contractors you don't know offer "special deals" after a disaster or want to use your home as a "model home."
Ask for complete financial details in writing and for an explanation of any differences from regular prices. Sales do exist, but be sure you are getting the services and products you are paying for.
Do not sign a contract when a salesperson has pressured you. Federal law requires a three-day "cooling off" period for unsolicited door-to-door sales of more than $25. If you want to cancel such a contract within three business days of signing it, send your cancellation by registered mail. Other types of sales may have contracts with different cancellation clauses.
Beware if you are asked to pay cash on the spot instead of a check made out to the contracting company. A reasonable down payment is up to 30 percent of the total cost of the project.
Make sure your contractor calls you or a qualified observer to inspect work before it is covered over. Shoddy work on sewers or basement walls will be hidden from view, and you won't know if there is a problem until the next flood. Most building departments will want to inspect electrical and plumbing lines before the walls are covered with wallboard or paneling.
If you are a victim of fraud or have problems with a less than reputable contractor, the state or local consumer protection office or public attorney should be able to tell you what to do.
(Source:American Red Cross, FEMA)