A flooded basement can be catastrophic, sometimes causing thousands of dollars to clean and repair. Cleaning a flooded basement presents some unique challenges, so it’s important to proceed with caution. Here are a few steps to take when cleaning up your flooded basement in Springfield Missouri, so you don’t end up making the problems worse.
Call Your Insurer
Before cleanup begins, be sure to call your insurance company. It’s crucial to get an adjuster out to see the damage as quickly as possible. By calling early, you can get the claims process started sooner. If your insurer can’t come out for a few days, take pictures of the damaged areas before cleaning anything up. These photos will serve as proof of your losses when working with your insurance company.
Avoid Flood Waters
Flood water is often toxic, posing serious health risks unless you take the proper precautions. Wear rubber boots and gloves to shield your skin from any harmful bacteria in the water and wear a mask if you’re moving things and stirring up dust and mold. The clothing you wear while cleaning up a flooded basement should be washed separately from any other laundry and in hot water. If your clothes get too stained or dirty, it’s probably best to throw them away.
Remove Mud and Water
The next step is removing any standing water and mud from the basement. A high-capacity water pump can remove the water, but you might also need to use dehumidifiers and fans to eliminate airborne moisture. If there’s mud on the floor, shovel it into buckets and dispose of it safely. If possible, open up the basement windows to allow the basement to air out.
Salvage Damaged Items
Remove all furniture and items that suffered flood damage. Take everything outside and clean everything that’s salvageable. However, if something such as food, toys, clothing, mattresses, carpeting, or fabric has touched contaminated floodwaters, it should be discarded.
Remove Saturated Drywall
Once your flooded basement is nearly empty, remove any remaining carpeting and strip the room of any paneling or drywall that was soaked by the floodwaters. If the water only reached a few feet into the basement, it may be possible to simply remove the damaged part, but most floods require complete drywall and insulation removal.
Start Scrubbing
Next, take a garden hose and spray the area to remove any mildew and mold spores that have formed. Clean the entire room with bleach water or a pre-mixed cleanser that works to kill mold. Anything that was touched by floodwaters must be cleaned with a mold-killing cleanser. Let the basement dry thoroughly before replacing the wall coverings, and keep the dehumidifiers and fans going.
Call The Flood Damage Restoration Experts
If you have a flooded basement is don’t want to tackle the massive cleanup process on your own, leave it to the flood damage restoration experts at PuroClean Certified Restoration. We offer local homeowners peace of mind when dealing with water damage restoration. Call us today for emergency flood damage restoration services.