Cleaning, Repairing, and Disinfecting
Recovery from exposure to water is more successful if your home is stabilized as soon as possible. This means that the immediate environment must receive attention. Follow the basic structural stabilization procedures before you start cleaning repairing and disinfecting the content of your home.
If you cannot stabilize the environmental conditions in your home, you may want to consider a move out to remove wet items to a stabilized environment and to prevent damage from occurring in dry items.
Items are safer and easier to clean if they have been soaked by clean rainwater as opposed to dirty, contaminated floodwaters or sewage. Evaluate the type of damage before attempting to salvage an item. If you suspect that the water is contaminated, consult a water damage restoration professional.
There are several techniques which have been tested and perfected over time. The selection of one or more of these depends upon the extent and severity of water damage and the composition of the materials affected.
Keep in mind that there is a difference between cleaning, repairing and disinfecting.
- Cleaning will remove mud, soil and other debris from the surface.
- Repairing will return damaged items back to a working condition.
- Disinfecting will destroy disease-carrying microorganisms.
Please Note: the following guides are intended for non-collection materials only.
Do not use any of the listed chemicals or methods if rare or unique materials are involved. Consider consulting a conservator experienced in disaster recovery before making final decisions.
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