Cleaning up your home

Cleaning up your home:

£ For more detail please refer to the Section on Saving Flood Damaged Items

£ If you haven’t been successful in pre-arranging the use of a generator and high pressure cleaner, hire or borrow them as it will make the work so much easier. But be aware that high pressure cleaners may not only wash off mud but also paint

£ Use big buckets or tubs to step muddy shoes into when breaching a clean zone. Saves extra cleaning

£ Stack debris on footpaths, taking care to leave driveways clear and not impinge on substations and other services that may be situated on footpaths

£ Asbestos needs to be kept wet and away from any power tools or high pressure blasting. If it is broken, wear protective clothing and stack it away from other debris. Refer to Council and specialists for further handling requirements

£ If your rainwater tanks weren’t full to begin with, they may well have filled with floodwater and will need to be cleaned with chlorine. Contact your installer for advice after floodwaters have subsided

£ Do not pump out your pool until you’ve sought advice from a qualified pool specialist

£ Swimming pool safety fencing will still be a major council issue. Temporarily secure as much as possible until the major work can be undertaken

£ If the fridge is still cool and not flooded, eat perishables first, frozen goods last

£ Dispose of any food items that have sat for too long in a non-working fridge, but not on the kerb - your Council may provide specific food disposal bins

£ Buy bags of gypsum to sprinkle over mud-caked gardens, this will help break up soil.  Then mulch, let weeds plants etc grow through and let nature do its thing!

£ Sand in sandpits will be unusable and sand will have to be replaced

£ Air your premises as much as you can

£ Treat minor cuts and grazes immediately with antiseptic and bandages and get a tetanus shot

£ If injured more seriously i.e. gashed or pierced - seek medical assistance from your local doctor’s surgery or medical centre