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After a Flood: What You Should Consider
If you’ve been flooded in your home, here is some advice from Mary Long-Dhonau on what steps you should take:
Firstly, while you may be tempted to return to your home following a flood, wait until you have been told it is safe to do so by the emergency services.
I would urge you to contact your insurance company as soon as possible; many have 24-hour help lines during a flood and should be able to support you.
Going home for the first time after a flood can be very distressing so don’t take your children with you. The areas of your home that have been flooded may well be covered in horrible brown sludge and will smell awful, so try to prepare yourself for that.
Make sure you wear boots and take care not to fall over, as the floor will be very slippery underfoot.
I also recommend you do the following post- flood:
• Take photos and a video of the damage, this includes the contents of fridge and freezer, with your mobile phone or buy a disposable camera.
• Mark a line on the wall as to where the water came up to
• Wear gloves when touching anything that is wet as it may well be contaminated by the flood water
• Cut a piece of your carpet and save it for the loss adjuster and then cut your carpet into small pieces try to remove it into the garden but do not throw it away. Carpets hold water into the property and wet heavy items inhibit the drying process
• Once carpets are outside, try to keep your windows and doors open to aid ventilation, as this will speed up the drying process but remember to lock-up every time you leave to avoid any unscrupulous thieves from taking advantage
• Your insurer will give you more instructions.
I’ve written a guide about how to recover from a flood, and have a section that has lots of post flood recovery information, which is available to view here: https://floodmary.com/help-and-resources/after-a-flood/.
Mary Long-Dhonau OBE
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