flooded house
Dry Your Photographs Drying. Either lay the images on newsprint (a non-archival paper without printing, not newspaper with print) or paper towels. Or you can hang the images on a clothesline with plastic clothespins. Flatten. When the photos are 100 percent dry, press them under the heavy books. Scan the flat, dry photos and create a folder on your hard drive with basic information such as the date and who is pictured.
Clean Your Photographs Cleaning station. Fill a sink or bucket with room-temperature water. For best results, use distilled or purified spring water. Then dip each photo into the water, and use a brush to clean each side of the image. Continue this cleaning process with all images. When the water gets really dirty, drain it and start again with clean water. Brushing. You will want to scrub the photo very gently to remove dirt from both sides using a soft bristle brush, foam craft brush, cotton ball or microfiber cloth. Be careful not to brush off the image. Attached images. If photos are stuck together, submerge them in water and gently start with the corner to peel them apart. It’s important not to go too quickly, as one or both of the images might tear. The photos might require longer soaking before they can be separated. This can take up to an hour — be patient, and use care. You also can use a spatula or similar tool to help get between the photos or remove them from an album page.
Clothing. Put on your protective suit or old clothing, respiratory mask and gloves. It’s important to protect yourself when working with water-damaged photographs. Photos. Remove anything attached or stuck to the photos, like album covers, papers or envelopes in which the photographs may have been kept. Photo albums. If you have albums, take pieces of wax paper and put them between each page. Then put albums in plastic bags and place them in the freezer. (This stops mold from growing.) If you don’t have a freezer, seal the bags and make sure to get the albums within 48 hours to a professional who can help prevent mold growth.
Clothing. Put on your protective suit or old clothing, respiratory mask and gloves. It’s important to protect yourself when working with water-damaged photographs. Photos. Remove anything attached or stuck to the photos, like album covers, papers or envelopes in which the photographs may have been kept. Photo albums. If you have albums, take pieces of wax paper and put them between each page. Then put albums in plastic bags and place them in the freezer. (This stops mold from growing.) If you don’t have a freezer, seal the bags and make sure to get the albums within 48 hours to a professional who can help prevent mold growth.
Risinger says a lot of people are staying in their homes and will likely live with a partially demolished house for months or even years as they wait for insurance money to come in or save up enough to rebuild. The exterior shell of most houses will be fine once dried out. So even after you remove the interior drywall and insulation, you’re still protected from the elements with the exterior shell. As for adding new drywall, Risinger says an amateur can do the work. It might not be cosmetically as good as you want, but you can always return to it in a few months or a year and hire a painting contractor to make it look better. “In the meantime, put your life back together,” he says. Risinger Homes Save Email Rebuild Cautiously Once you are ready to start rebuilding with the help of a professional, Risinger says to be patient and cautious of scams or contractors looking to move too quickly. “I think it’s going to be ugly, unfortunately,” Risinger says. “Be on your best vigilance. Don’t be overanxious to rebuild, and really take your time to check references.” Talk to or visit your potential contractor’s previous satisfied customers. Don’t be afraid to ask them hard questio...
5. Don’t forget hidden spaces. Be sure to check drawers and other areas of your home for standing water. There may be water trapped at the base of your kitchen cabinets behind the toe kick. If you have a kitchen island, you may have water trapped in the base as well. Risinger recommends drilling holes in the base of the toe kick, as shown here, to release any water trapped there and get air circulating through. He says that replacing the toe kick and cabinet backs is relatively cheap and easy. If your cabinets were built in the 1970s, ’80s or ’90s out of solid plywood, they will likely survive just fine after they dry out. You’ll want to cut out the backs, as shown here, to remove the drywall and insulation behind them, but leave the structure of the cabinets intact. More modern cabinets made from pressboard or particleboard will need to be trashed, Risinger says. “If they’ve been under 2 feet of water, they’re goners,” he says. “Especially melamine. The plastic coating will swell up, and it will look like your cabinets have acne. That’s why I always coach people to get real plywood cabinets — they can be saved.” Interior doors can likely be saved too. Take the doors off their h...
5. Don’t forget hidden spaces. Be sure to check drawers and other areas of your home for standing water. There may be water trapped at the base of your kitchen cabinets behind the toe kick. If you have a kitchen island, you may have water trapped in the base as well. Risinger recommends drilling holes in the base of the toe kick, as shown here, to release any water trapped there and get air circulating through. He says that replacing the toe kick and cabinet backs is relatively cheap and easy. If your cabinets were built in the 1970s, ’80s or ’90s out of solid plywood, they will likely survive just fine after they dry out. You’ll want to cut out the backs, as shown here, to remove the drywall and insulation behind them, but leave the structure of the cabinets intact. More modern cabinets made from pressboard or particleboard will need to be trashed, Risinger says. “If they’ve been under 2 feet of water, they’re goners,” he says. “Especially melamine. The plastic coating will swell up, and it will look like your cabinets have acne. That’s why I always coach people to get real plywood cabinets — they can be saved.” Interior doors can likely be saved too. Take the doors off their h...
Save Email He recommends cutting the drywall about a foot above the waterline to be safe. Most of the time, the water will wick up the drywall a couple of inches above the waterline but not all the way to the ceiling, he says. Water may wick higher than that in the studs, but the solid wood two-by-fours will dry out just fine. “Those two-by-fours can survive a flood no problem,” Risinger says. “Dry them out over a couple of weeks, and it won’t change the structural integrity at all.” Once the drywall portion is removed, cut the insulation and remove that as well. Don’t yank down the insulation, as that will leave a gap near the top of the wall. Tip: Risinger also recommends leaving a small section of your drywall as is so that you can show an insurance adjuster where the waterline was.
4. Demo everything to the studs and concrete slab. Risinger says some hardwood floors and solid wood trim might salvageable, but for the most part, you’re looking at stripping your home down to its concrete slab and wall studs above the line where the water reached. Demolishing the portion of your drywall that was damaged by water is a task easy enough for the average homeowner, Risinger says.
Road to Recovery 1. Get personal protective equipment, such as rubber boots, gloves and clothes. Risinger advises that you protect yourself first with the proper gear, especially for your lungs. Flood water is nasty stuff, containing hazardous chemicals and raw sewage, the residue of which gets left behind after the water recedes. What’s more, lead-based paint particles can also get stirred up, especially if your home was built before 1978. Not to mention the dust and mold spores in the air. So play it safe and protect your lungs. Risinger recommends an N95 mask (he prefers this one) or a half-face P100 respirator. 2. Cut off power, gas and water. Before entering your home, be sure to turn off gas, water and electricity. HUD also recommends assessing your home’s structural integrity before entering, and getting a professional inspection if you’re unsure. If the waterline was above the electrical outlets, Risinger recommends having an electrician come out as a precaution to make sure everything is OK. But he says that nine times out of 10 there won’t be any problems to the mechanical components in a house after a flood. The vast majority of the damage will be to the materials.
Document everything with photos and video for an insurance claim. But Risinger says not to wait for an adjuster to show up before you start working on getting your house dry. “If your house is closed up for two to three weeks, mold can start growing everywhere,” he says. Within two to three days of water receding, you should return to your home to remove everything that was touched by water.
What Not to Do to Water-Damaged Photographs Don’t dry your images if they are inside any casing, frame or album, or if they are still attached to other images. If you try to remove an image after it’s been dried to a casing or another photo, you’ll find that it’s likely to rip or tear. Don’t dry your images with a hair dryer or other heat-producing appliance. Don’t dry the prints in direct sunlight or a dusty or windy location. Don’t use your fingers or a nonmicrofiber cloth to clean the prints.
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