After surviving a hurricane, debris removal can seem like the least of your worries. However, the steps you take immediately after such a natural disaster can have a huge impact on the health and safety of you and your family. The clean up process can be as time consuming as rebuilding and nearly as expensive.
Once you return to your home after a hurricane event, you should be aware that flood water may contain sewage and other highly toxic contaminants. To protect yourself and your family, there are some basic steps that you should follow.
- To being, you must keep children and pets out of all contaminated areas until clean up has been completed.
- During the clean up process, you should wear rubber boots, rubber gloves, and goggles at all times.
- Be sure to remove and discard items that cannot be washed and disinfected like mattresses, carpeting, carpet padding, rugs, upholstered furniture, stuffed animals, toys, pillows, foam-rubber items, books, wall coverings, and many paper products.
- Remove and discard drywall and insulation that has been contaminated with sewage or flood waters.
- Thoroughly clean all hard surfaces, including flooring, moldings, wood and metal furniture, countertops, appliances, sinks, and other plumbing fixtures with hot water and detergent.
- You can expedite the drying process by using fans, air conditioning units, and dehumidifiers.
- Once you have finished the clean up process, wash your hands with soap and warm water. Use water that has been boiled for at least one minute, but make sure you allow the water to cool to a sufficient temperature.
- Wash all clothes worn during the cleanup in hot water and detergent. Take special care to wash these clothes separately from uncontaminated clothes and linens
There are some other general things that you should keep in mind. During the clean up process, you should keep a battery-powered radio or television on hand so that you can receive important flood and power updates. Open interior doors with caution; doors that stick at the top of the door frame could indicate that a ceiling is at risk of collapsing. Even if the walls of your home are structurally sound, you should remove wet or damp wallpaper; such wallpaper is a breeding ground for mold, which has a high potential for toxicity. You should also consult a contractor or building inspector to check for general mold damage after any flooding.
Cleaning up after extensive hurricane damage is an arduous task. However, if you follow a thorough safety strategy, you can look forward to reoccupying your home.
