Cleaning up your house After the Flood

Cleaning up your house after it is being submerged with flood water.

In this situation our main focus and goal here is to make it Habitable as soon as possible.

Safety First - of course we would like to ensure that we don't injure ourselves while we are cleaning the house. 

We would need the following:

• surgical face mask
• sturdy gloves
• wash water
• hand wash soap
• Isoprohyl Alcohol
• safety glasses

SWITCH OFF HOUSE POWER

We would like to ensure that everything is safe in the house because the house was submerged with water we don't know if there are electrical wiring that may have been impacted or damage due to the flood. The sockets or plugs might have been damaged as well. Use battery operated tools and flash light.

While cleaning the house TIMING is really essential. Don't be in a hurry. As we have seen, several or if not most of the time flood water recede and then come back with a vengeance. Always have those transistor radio on to make sure you are updated from time to time. If you're living nearby a creek then make sure to evacuate your house even before the creek hits its critical level.

WHERE TO START?

Since the house is submerged with water we need to remove all clothing and linen items. Place them in a plastic or soak them in water with laundry soap and a good amount of ZONROX ( I normally use the color safe bleach) to at least disinfect the clothes and linen. Next is to remove or bring out your furnitures, appliances and other soft furnishing such as carpets and linoleum. 

Next is to box or pack everything from utensils to decorations to CD's etc. After packing them put them outside your house as well.

Have your appliances checked by an electrician to see if it is repairable or it is as good as junk already.

When everything is outside already or when you generally strip off your house it is now the washing and disinfecting the whole house.

We would need the following:

• Detergent Powder soap - First I would mop the house with detergent soap. This is to make sure the dirt and flood residue is removed.

• MOP and Bucket - At first I use the conventional mop however recently I found out that there is this kind of mop in the market where it has spinner to dry the mop. At least I don't have to touch and squeeze the mop already.

•  Then after washing the whole house (walls and floor) with soap and water I then wash it again with a very good amount of bleaching liquid or in this case I usually use ZONROX Bleach. I use this to disinfect the whole house.

• After bleaching and drying the house I use Fabric softner as a finishing touches of my cleaning agenda.

• So after, washing the house I would mop the whole floor and walls with dry rags.

After cleaning and drying the walls and floor of the house. Make sure that electrical wiring are checked by a qualified electrician. This is to avoid someone from the house being electricuted or the house to be burning because of short circuits.