How to Dry your home after a Flood

When your home floods it can be an incredibly difficult time both emotionally and financially and whilst you may be wanting to get back into your home as quickly as possible you need to ensure that the house has dried out properly before you even think about decorating and moving back in.

Water damages your home in a number of different ways and you cannot always see it so unfortunately the proper length of time is something that is required to allow everything to dry out properly. The water damages plasterboard, wood and electrical parts that you have in your home.

One of the first things is to get all of your belongings out of the house but do not dispose of them as your Insurance Company will want to visit to get the damage assessed properly. This will also help to speed up the drying process.

Keep the house open to help reduce humidity which will help to stop mold and mildew and also rotting. If you can keep all of the doors and windows open to allow the moist air to escape and dry air to enter the house. Obviously if it is raining or very cold then you won’t want to do this.

Any fitted furniture should be opened up too, open doors and drawers and allow air to circulate freely around your house. If there has been swelling and it is difficult to open anything then don’t force it as you will cause more damage.

Use heat to help dry your home and fans to move the air around. Do not use air conditioning if the ducts were under water as they may blow out contaminated air. De-humidifiers can be a good idea too, this helps dry the air out.

Get an expert to check you are doing everything you can, this post is here to give some general advice and to stop you making immediate mistakes but please always consult with an expert to make sure it is safe.

Once your possessions have been valued then you need to make sure they are disposed of in the correct way if neccessary and anything that can be salvaged needs to be thoroughly cleaned as dirty water can contain all kinds of nasty bugs and you won’t necessarily see any evidence of this.

Only start to re-decorate once your home has been fully dried out and checked over. You will be advised when it is safe to return and do NOT do so until you have been given the all clear by an expert.