Escambia Health Department Offers Tips For Cleanup After Flood

June 12, 2012

The Escambia County Health Department offers the following tips for safe home cleanup after a flood:

After your home has been flooded it is important that water be removed as quickly as possible since it may contain material from overflowing sewage systems. Failure to remove contaminated materials can cause health risks.

If there has been a backflow of sewage into the house, the following measures should be taken to ensure proper clean-up:

  • Walls, hard-surfaced floors and many other household surfaces must be cleaned with soap and water and disinfected with a solution of 1 cup of bleach to five gallons of water.
  • Thoroughly disinfect surfaces that come in contact with food and children’s play areas.
  • Wash all linens and clothing in hot water or dry-clean.
  • Items that cannot be washed or dry-cleaned, such as mattresses and upholstered furniture, must be air dried in the sun and sprayed thoroughly with a disinfectant.
  • Steam-clean all carpeting.
  • Fiberboard, fibrous insulation and disposable filters that have contacted floodwater or sewage should be replaced in your heating and air conditioning system.
  • Wear rubber boots and waterproof gloves during clean-up. Be careful about mixing household cleaners and disinfectants, as combining certain types of products can produce toxic fumes and result in injury or death.

It can be difficult to throw away items in a home, particularly those with sentimental value.

However, keeping certain items soaked by sewage or flood waters may be unhealthy. In general, materials that cannot be thoroughly cleaned and dried within 24-48 hours should be discarded.

For further information, please contact your local county health department or visit www.doh.state.fl.us.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News