Floodwaters
affect a house in 3 ways:
1. The water
damages materials. Wallboard will disintegrate if it stays wet too long; wood can
swell, warp, or rot; electrical parts can short out, malfunction, and cause
fires or shock.
2. Mud, silt,
and unknown contaminants in the water not only get everything dirty; they are
also unhealthy.
3. Dampness
promotes the growth of mildew, a mold or fungus that can grow on everything.
The following
steps work on all 3 of these problems. It is very important to do these steps
in order.
Lower the Humidity
Everything
will dry more quickly and clean more easily if you can reduce the humidity in
the house. There are many ways to lower the humidity and stop the rot and
mildew. But you'll have to delay using some methods if you have no electricity.
(Read Step 5 before you attempt to restore the utilities.)
·
Open
up the house. If the humidity outside is lower than it is indoors, and if the
weather permits, open all the doors and windows to exchange the moist indoor air
for drier outdoor air. Your body will tell if the humidity is lower outdoors.
If the sun is Out, it should be drier outside. If you have a thermometer with a
humidity gauge, you can monitor the indoor and outdoor humidity.
On
the other hand, when temperatures drop at night, an open house is warmer and
will draw moisture indoors. At night,
and at other times when the humidity is higher outdoors, close up the house.
·
Open
closet and cabinet doors. Remove drawers to let air circulate. Drawers may
stick because of swelling. Don't try to force them. Help them dry by opening up
the back of the cabinet so air can get into it. You will probably be able to
remove the drawers as the cabinet dries out.
·
Use
fans. Fans help move the air and dry out your home. Do not use central air
conditioning or the furnace blower if the ducts were under water. They will
blow out dirty air that might contain contaminants from the sediment left in
the duct work. Clean or hose out the ducts first. (See Step 2.)
·
Run
dehumidifiers. Dehumidifiers and window air conditioners will reduce the
moisture, especially in closed-up areas.
·
Use
desiccants. Desiccants (materials that absorb moisture) are very useful in
drying closets or other closed areas where air cannot move through. Desiccants
like those listed below are usually available at hardware, grocery, or drug
stores.
•
Chemical dehumidifier packs used for drying boats and damp closets.
•
Cat litter made of clay.
•
Calcium chloride pellets (used to melt ice in the winter). Hang pellets in a pillow
case, nylon stocking, or other porous bag. Put a bucket underneath to catch
dripping water. Close the closet or area being dried. Be careful. Calcium
chloride can burn your skin. It will also make the air salty; so do not use
this product near computers or other delicate equipment.
·
Call
a contractor. There are contractors who specialize in drying out flooded
buildings. They have large fans and dehumidifiers that can dry out a house in a
few days. Look in the yellow pages under Fire and Water Damage Restoration or
under Dehumidifying. Be careful about contractors who inflate prices after a
disaster and about out-of-town contractors who request payment in advance.
Be patient. Drying your house could take several
weeks. Until your house is reasonably dry, damage caused by mildew and decay
will continue. The musty odor will stay forever if the house is not dried out
well.
Sort Contents and Debris
You have 3
types of contents. They should go to 3 places:
• Items you
want to save
• Items to be throw out
• Garbage
Things You Want to Save
Move things
you want to save to a safe, dry place, such as the second story or outside. The longer they sit in water, the more damaged
they become. Don’t leave wood furniture in the sun because it will warp as it
dries. To save an area rug, lay a sheet or some other material on top of it
before you roll it up so the colors will not bleed. Clean it promptly.
Things You Don't Want to
Save
Put things
you don't save outside to dry outside to dry until the adjuster comes to confirm
your losses. Take pictures tapes and list each it record. If you are not sure
whether to throw something out, decide whether it is worth salvaging by checking
the information in Step 6.
Garbage
Get rid of
food and anything else that could spoil immediately. Don't let garbage build
up. Garbage piles will cause yet another health hazard by attracting animals
and insects. If your insurance adjuster
has not come, tell your agent or adjuster that you need to get rid of potential
hazards. That person will tell you how to make sure that your losses are
covered. Then throw the stuff out, preferably in sealed plastic garbage bags.
Don't take
chances with frozen food if the electricity went off unless the food is still
thoroughly frozen and contains ice crystals. As a rule, food will remain frozen
for up to 3 days in a closed freezer without power. Don't refreeze thawed food.
However, you can cook raw meat that was partially thawed and then freeze it.
Dispose of discarded items properly. Do not burn or bury them. There will
usually be more frequent garbage pickups after a flood. Your local newspapers
or local TV and radio stations will have announcements about trash pickup
schedules and droop-off sites.
How Floodwaters Affect Your Home
Once contents
and debris have been cleared, the next step is to get the water out of the
ceilings and walls. How you drain and dry your ceiling s and walls depends on
what they are made of.
Wallboard
Most ceilings
and walls are covered with wallboard, especially in newer home. Wallboard acts
like a sponge, drawing water up above the flood level. It becomes very fragile
if it stays wet for long and will fall apart when bumped. When the wallboard
finally dries, there will still be mud and contaminants dried inside.
Wallboard
that has been soaked by floodwater can be a permanent health hazard. Therefore,
this book recommends that you throw out flooded wallboard. On the other hand,
if the wallboard was soaked by clean rainwater, it can be dried in place with
plenty of fresh air moving through the area.
Plaster
Plaster will
survive a flood better than wallboard. You should not need to replace it, but
it will take a very long time to dry.
Sometimes the
plaster will separate from its wood laths as it dries. Then the wall will have
to be removed and replaced.
Insulation
There are 3
main types of insulation, and each reacts differently to floodwaters. Styrofoam
survives best; it may only need to be hosed off.
Fiberglass
batts should be thrown out if they are muddy. If soaked by clean rainwater,
remove them so the rest of the wall can dry. They can be put back in the wall,
but it will take a very long time for them to dry.
Cellulose
(loose or blown-in treated paper) insulation holds water for a long time. It
can also lose its antifungal and fire retardant abilities. Therefore, flooded
cellulose insulation should be replaced.
Wood
If it is
allowed to dry naturally, wood will usually regain its original shape.
Different layers o laminated wood, such as plywood, may dry at different rates,
and that may cause the layers to separate.
Some
contaminants will stay in the wood after it dries, but not as much as stays in
flooded wallboard. Wood studs and sills will be covered by new wallboard and
painted, so they are well removed from human contact. Therefore, wet wood studs
and sills do not need to be replaced if they are allowed to dry properly.
Drain the Ceilings and Walls
Ceilings
Check for
sagging ceilings. Drain them carefully as shown in Step 2. If the floodwaters
went above your ceiling, you should replace it if it is made of wallboard. A plaster
ceiling will dry eventually, but if it has too many cracks or sags, you will
have to tear it down and replace it. Remove any wet insulation in the ceiling
to allow the joists to dry.
Walls
Remove water
trapped within your walls. To check for water, take off the baseboard. Stick an
awl or knife into the wall about 2 inches above the floor (just above the 2 x 4
wood sill plate). If water drips out, cut or drill a hole large enough to allow
water to drain freely. (Use a hand or cordless drill or saw to avoid shock.) If
you are going to replace the wallboard anyway, you don't have to be neat: use a
hammer to knock out a hole.
If your walls
are plaster, a knife won't penetrate them. Drill a hole above the sill plate to
drain the water. (Use a hand or cordless drill to avoid shock. Do not use a
hammer or chisel on plaster because the plaster could shatter.
In a newer
home, you may have metal sill plates. A metal sill acts as a gutter at the
bottom of the wall cavity. Drill a hole at floor level to drain the water,
using a hand or cordless drill.
Repeat the
process to drain all the wall cavities. Depending on the spacing between studs
in your walls, make a hole every 16 inches or every 24 inches. Watch out for
the wiring, which is usually at the same height as your electrical outlets. If
there is wet insulation, you will have to remove the wallboard in order to take
out all the insulation.
Dry the Ceilings and Walls
Flood-soaked
wallboard should be removed and thrown away. Plaster and paneling can often be
saved, but you still need to get air circulating in the wall cavities to dry
the studs and sills. Different approaches are used for different materials.
Wallboard
If dirty
floodwaters soaked the wallboard at least 4 feet above the floor, take down all
the wallboard and replace it. If the water was less than 4 feet deep, remove
the lower 4 feet of wallboard. You can fill the gap with new 4 ft. X 8 ft.
wallboard sheets installed sideways.
If you have
Styrofoam insulation—or no insulation—and the wallboard was soaked with clean
rainwater, you can dry the walls without removing the wallboard by using the
technique explained below for plaster walls. But you will need to remove wet
insulation if it is not Styrofoam.
Plaster Walls
If the
plaster or wallboard is clean and in good shape, you can drill or cut
ventilating holes in each wall cavity. Place holes low enough so they will be
covered by the baseboard after the wall dries out. Open up the wall on both
sides of interior walls. For exterior walls, drill or cut holes only on the
inside of the house. However, if there is wet insulation, you will have to
remove the plaster or wallboard in order to take out all the insulation.
Concrete Block
The cavities
in a concrete block wall will drain on their own. The water will not damage the
concrete like it will wood or wallboard.
Wall Covering
Vinyl wall
covering seals the wall and keeps it from drying out. Wallpaper paste is also a
favorite home for mold and mildew. For these reasons, you should remove all
wall covering that got wet and throw it out. (If vinyl wall covering is loose
on the bottom, you may be able to save it by pulling it off the wall up to the
flood level. Clean and reapply it after everything dries.)
Paneling
Carefully pry
the bottom of each panel away from the wall. Use something to hold the bottom
away from the sill so the cavities can drain and dry out. You can nail them
back into shape after they and the studs dry out. However, if there is wet
insulation, you will have to remove the paneling in order to take out all the
insulation.
Dry the Floor
Air needs to
move around flooded floors so they can dry out. This usually means that you
must remove the floor covering. Because floodwaters contain mud and dirt, most
soaked floor coverings should be thrown away. Keep a piece of all discarded
floor covering so the adjuster can tell its value.
Air needs to
circulate below the floor to dry it out. If the crawl space of your house is
flooded, pump it out. Remove any plastic sheets, vapor barriers, or insulation
from underneath the floor. (Be sure to replace them when the floor and foundation
are completely dry.)
If a house
with a basement was flooded over the first floor remove finished basement ceilings,
or cut or drill holes between all the joists to allow' circulation. Don't cut
or drill near electric lines or pipes.
You have now
reached the stage where your home should be protected from further damage.
Exterior holes have been patched, the utilities have been turned off, and the drying
process has started. It may take days or weeks, depending on the humidity, for
all the wood and walls to dry out. You can do Steps 5, 6, and 7 while the house
is drying. However, do not start Step 8, Rebuild and Flood proof, until the
house is completely dry.
