What to Throw Out After a Flood

After a flood has made its way through your home, you are going to be doing a lot of wondering about what you need to try and repair and what needs to be just thrown away. There are a number of items in your house that are going to be better off thrown out instead of you trying to repair them or refurbish them in any way.

One thing that is going to need to be definitely thrown away is food. Any foods in your home will need to be thrown out, including everything in the refrigerator and in the cabinets, even if they did not come into contact with the water directly. If the home was under water for more than 48 hours, the humidity in the home will have gotten so high that it is likely that they have started to mold or at the very least, have become contaminated.

Items such as bedding that is full of padding, like pillows, will most likely need to be thrown out. These thick items are difficult to disinfect entirely and dry out. Not only bacteria have likely contaminated these items, but sewage and other chemicals, as well. Trying to clean these items is probably going to be more trouble than it is worth in the long run and simply purchasing new bedding may be more efficient.

Children’s toys that are porous such as stuffed animals will need to be thrown out. Items contaminated with sewage and chemicals like this or have been contaminated with mold will need to be thrown away because getting them completely safe to be played with again is very difficult. The padding inside these items soaking up soil, sewage, and other chemicals is what makes them so difficult to clean. Plastic toys can be disinfected with cleaners such as Lysol or bleach.

Wooden furniture may become molded if the flood water and the chemicals that it may contain penetrate the finish. These will need to be disinfected and refinished after the flood is over.

Upholstered furniture will usually need to be thrown out if it has been sitting in flood water for more than 24 hours. Soil and sewage will penetrate the outer fabric after a while and be extremely difficult to clean. Much like carpet padding, it will need to be thrown out. Upholstered furniture can be re-upholstered, but this usually comes at a great expense and it is often much easier to just buy a new couch or chair.