Skip to main content

Cleaning Up After a Flood

If you've experienced a flood in your home, this article will help you clean it up and repair the damage.

In this article, you will find:

Page 1
Page 2

Page 2

More on Floors and Floorcoverings

Carpeted surfaces can be hard to dry out, especially if they're thoroughly soaked. Typically, your best bet will be to pull up the carpet and the pad after you've vacuumed up as much water as you can. This will help the wood subfloor dry faster. Training some fans on the area will help, too. It's important to get all trapped water out as quickly as possible. Failing to do so can both warp the subfloor and cause mildew.

After the carpets are dry, they can be reinstalled over new padding and steam-cleaned. However, if they were contaminated with sewage or dirty water, plan on replacing them. The same thing goes for upholstered furniture and, depending on the level of damage, possibly wood furniture too. In general, if you're in doubt about anything, throw it out.

Once the water is gone, hang wet throw rugs and other movable floor coverings outside over a clothesline or sawhorse so they can air out without mildewing.

It can take some time for a house to dry out. If you had to deal with a significant water problem, it could take weeks. During this time, you might start smelling a musty odor. This indicates mold and mildew growth.

Join the Family

Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.

Subscribe