Flood Cleanup Tips

 Flood damage control procedures & checklist: if your building has been flooded, this article series provides an easy to understand guide for flood damage assessment, setting priorities of action, safety, and we provide special information about avoiding or minimizing mold damage.

This Building Flood Response Checklist sets priorities for what to do to protect your building from mold contamination after flooding from a burst pipe or from rising waters and area flooding. These are quick, simple steps to minimize mold damage in a flooded building.

This is the first in our series of building flood damage articles on steps to take to safely enter and repair homes or other buildings after area flooding due to hurricanes, rising floodwaters, burst pipes, or other water flooding.

We discuss safety for people entering flooded buildings, steps to preserve and protect the building from further damage after it has been flooded, how to get mechanical systems up and running again, evaluating for the need for structural repairs, demolition, and cleaning, and avoid mold in a flooded building.

• Crawl spaces (or flooded basements) that are unsafe -
  
  

Flooded crawl spaces may be contaminated with sewage bacteria, mold, rodents, or chemicals.

Flooded crawl spaces may be in danger from collapse of the structure overhead.

Watch out:There may be a danger of electrocution in crawl spaces, especially wet ones, if electrical power remains on.

• Continue to listen to a NOAA Weather Radio:  
  
  or local radio or television stations and return home only when authorities indicate it is safe to do so. Flood dangers do not end when the water begins to recede; there may be flood-related hazards within your community, which you could hear about from local broadcasts.
• Do not work alone:
  
  Watch out: if you fall or are injured and are alone you may not receive prompt assistance. If you must work alone despite this advice, be sure you have a working radio or cell phone to use to summons assistance
• Drinking water
  
   may be unavailable or it may be contaminated. Do not assume that municipal water or water from private wells is safe to drink.

• Electrocution hazards: When leaving a building because of impending flooding, leave the electricity turned OFF. Do not turn electricity back on until the building is dry and safe. 
  
  Using a portable electricity generator in a waterlogged or damaged home in a disaster area after hurricanes, earthquakes, floods can be very dangerous, risking death by electrocution, gas explosion, or by carbon monoxide poisoning. Above we also warned about electrocution hazards in buildings where the electricity has not been shut off.
• Gas leak risks: Watch out for gas leaks in flooded buildings - flooding moves buildings & causes gas line leaks. 
  
  Do not Smoke Near or Inside Buildings that Have not Been Declared Safe - a ruptured gas line or leaking gas from appliances could cause a gas explosion and fire. 
  
  Do not smoke inside buildings. Smoking in a confined area can cause a fire or gas explosion. Do not turn electricity back on in a building where gas leaks could be present. Use a sealed flashlight for inspection, not a plug-in light.
• Mold, Muck, Insects, Toxic Sludge & Toxic Dust Hazards exist in flooded or storm damaged buildings - a mixture of household chemicals, paints, stored gasoline, lead, sewer or septic system backup, debris and possibly asbestos. 
  
  Watch out:Do not begin cleanup efforts without understanding the hazards that may be present and be sure to use the necessary protective clothing.
  

  We also list after-flood "anti-mold" procedures that do not work or are unsafe - to help you avoid unnecessary expense in dealing with mold after a building flood.

  
  

  How to Prevent Mold Growth After a Building Flood or Burst Pipe

  If your building has just been flooded by rising flood waters, a burst pipe, a waste line leak, a sewer backup, or other event, immediate action may prevent a very costly mold cleanup.

As soon as it is safe to do so, respond quickly to building leaks and floods in order to minimize damage to the building. 

While it may be impossible to safely enter or even inspect a building before waters have receded in areas of major flooding, hurricane or storm damage, as soon as possible the building should be inspected and the steps below begun.

1. Before entering a building that has been flooded 
   
   
   
   Watch out: An initial building survey is needed to assure that a building is safe to enter.
   
   Hazards in and around flooded buildings include risk of structural collapse, risk of septic system collapse, trip and fall injury hazards, electrical shock hazards, fire and explosion hazards where natural gas or bottled gas are present, loose or broken gas piping and gas leaks, toxic sludge and materials containing waterborne bacteria, such as the E. coli and Enterococci bacteria, toxic mold growth indoors.
2. Stop the water entry or other ongoing damage. 
   
   Obviously if flood waters are still rising or if a building has already become partly submerged you cannot easily stop water entry. But in other circumstances there are important steps you can take. 
   
   For example: turn off the main water shutoff valve, nail down tarps to cover openings or leaks in storm-damaged roofing, direct surface runoff away from the building.
3. Salvage or protect furnishings or possessions 
   
   which have not yet gotten wet by moving them to dry areas.
4. Remove standing water
   
   this may mean calling the local fire department or other agencies who have special pumping equipment.
5. Pump out flooded basements gradually: 
   
   (about one-third of the water per day) to avoid structural damage. If the water is pumped completely in a short period of time, pressure from water-saturated soil on the outside could cause basement walls to collapse.
6. Inspect the building more thoroughly for structural damage and safe entry.