DIY Flood Cleanups in Raleigh With Household Items

As much as you should wait for the rescue and restoration services to undo the flood and water damage in your home, you can also benefit from the knowledge of reversing the water damage yourself. Sometimes, especially if the flood damage throughout the town is comparatively greater, it can delay the rescue services from reaching residential areas and can also cause hindrance in their work. Rescue services also prioritize residential areas for rescue based on the damage they have suffered.

If you haven’t received serious flood damage or water damage to your home, but there is flood water standing in your home, you can take out floodwater and reverse the damage using household items. Find the step-by-step instructions here:

Check Running Water

Reversing flood damage begins with the flood cleanup, and the cleanup of homes requires the availability of safe and clean water. Hence, your first step should be to check the availability of clean water in your home. As flood fills the sewage pipes and overflows, any gaps or cracks in the clean water pipes may get mixed up with floodwater. Floodwater is full of toxins and germs and can be fatal if used for cleaning, washing, or drinking purposes. Therefore, ensuring the flow of safe water is the primary and most essential step.

Let the taps in your bathroom and kitchen run for a few minutes to be completely sure. It will also let you know if the sewage system can take the running water or not.

Check Sewage System

You don’t want to drain the floodwater, only for it to come back into your home again. Therefore, before you begin the flood cleanup process, check the sewage lines and gutters. There should be little to no water in them if you haven’t used any running water.

As mentioned above, if you’re sure that the water will drain, let the taps run for a while. You can check the gutters again as the water is running to ensure no dry mud as a blockage in the pipes.

Viper the Water

Once you have made sure that the water will drain, you can viper out all the water. Don’t viper out all the water as once. Draining all the water at once can cause an abrupt change in the pressure on your home’s foundation, which can negatively impact it and cause it to collapse.

Take a couple of days to drain out water slowly from the house. Also, ensure that the water level remains the same or similar in all rooms on the first floor throughout the draining process.

Wash Everything

After draining out the filthy floodwater, you should wash your home’s walls and floor with soapy water. Soapy water is very easy to prepare. All you will need to do is fill a bucket of water and add any liquid hand soap to it. While most hand soaps are antibacterial, you can add a disinfectant liquid for effective cleanup. Pour jugs of this water on the walls and viper down the water. Repeat the same process on the floor.

After a thorough rinse with soapy water, rinse with clean water to eliminate any soap or soap bubbles that may be left. You don’t want anyone to slip and injure themselves.

Vacuum the Floor and Walls

Once you have removed all the water from the floor using a viper, you can use a vacuum cleaner to remove any dirt or debris left behind. Floodwater can also hide other sharp objects on the floor, which can hurt you or your family members if they step on it. Vacuuming the place will ensure that the floor is safe to walk on again.

However, you should wear shoes inside the home until the process of flood cleanup is complete.

Ventilate

You can keep the windows throughout your house open to let them ventilate naturally. However, we suggest keeping the windows open only during the day as various bugs or insects can enter unnoticed at night. Keeping the windows open will also allow maximum sunlight, which will help dry up your home.

Run a Dehumidifier

After ventilating for two to three days, you can run a dehumidifier to get rid of all the moisture that the walls, floor, or furniture might have soaked up. Let the dehumidifier run in each room for a full day. Once you have run it in all the rooms, repeat the cycle repeatedly to get as much moisture out from the house as possible.

However, you can skip the dehumidifier if there is a possibility of electrical damage by the floodwater. In such a case, focus on ventilating the home as much as you can. Don’t try to fix electric work on your own, either. Let professional help arrive and give you a green signal to run electric appliances.

If the rescue team is delayed more than usual, you can also contact a restoration service instead. Many restoration services, such as the 911 Restoration of Raleigh, provide emergency restoration services, including flood damage and water damage restoration.