Cleaning up after a flood is three jobs in order: get the water out, get the ruined things out, and dry what is left. Here's how to salvage furniture after a flood. The order matters — drying a room full of soaked carpet and ruined drywall is drying garbage. And the clock matters more: mold starts in 24–48 hours, so the first two days decide whether the house recovers or the mold wins. Here's how to prevent mold after a flood.
Before you start: wait until the water is gone, turn the power off at the breaker if water reached any outlet, and wear rubber boots, gloves, and a mask. Floodwater is not rain — it carries sewage, chemicals, and bacteria. Never wade in with an open cut, and never turn the power back on until an electrician says it is safe. The flood damage check guide covers what to inspect before you clean.
Remove the water. Remove the water: pump it out, mop it up, or wet-vac it out. Start at the lowest point and work outward. A pump moves water faster than a bucket — rent one if the water is more than an inch deep. The flooded basement drying guide covers drying a basement and stopping mold before it starts.
Throw out what cannot be saved. Throw out what cannot be saved: soaked carpet padding, soaked drywall below the waterline, mattresses, and anything porous that sat in floodwater. Porous materials absorb sewage and cannot be disinfected — keeping them keeps the contamination. Photograph everything before you throw it out: the photos are the insurance claim.
Wash hard surfaces. Wash hard surfaces with soap and hot water: floors, walls, and furniture that can be washed. Scrub off the mud and the silt — floodwater leaves a film that holds bacteria even after it dries. Work top to bottom so the dirty water runs down to the floor you clean last.
Disinfect. Disinfect what you washed: a diluted bleach solution (one cup of bleach per gallon of water) on hard, non-porous surfaces. Let it sit for 10 minutes, then rinse. Never mix bleach with vinegar or ammonia — the fumes are toxic. Never use bleach on porous surfaces: it does not kill mold there, and the water feeds it.
Dry everything within 24–48 hours. Dry everything within 24–48 hours: fans, dehumidifiers, and open windows. Mold starts in a day, so drying is the deadline, not the cleanup. The first 24 hours have their own order — the flooded basement cleanup checklist covers what to do in the first 24 hours.
Check it in a week. Check the house in a week: smell for mold, look behind the baseboards, and check the walls for soft spots. If the mold is back, the water is still coming in — or the drying was not enough. A professional finds what the eye misses.
Throw away: soaked carpet padding, soaked drywall, mattresses, upholstered furniture that sat in water, and any food that touched floodwater. Keep: hard furniture that can be washed and disinfected, metal and glass, and clothes that can be hot-washed. When in doubt, throw it out — a saved mattress is not worth the bacteria it carries.
Never wade into floodwater with an open cut. Never turn the power back on until an electrician says it is safe. Never use a regular vacuum on floodwater — it electrocutes. Never dry a room with the windows closed and no dehumidifier — the moisture stays in the walls and the mold grows behind them.
The water removal and the first clean take a day or two; the drying takes a week or more. Mold starts in 24–48 hours, so the drying is the deadline — not the cleanup.
Yes, if the water is shallow and the power is off — boots, gloves, and a mask, and no open cuts. Deep water, sewage, or water that reached the outlets means a professional.
Soaked carpet padding, soaked drywall below the waterline, mattresses, and any food that touched floodwater. Porous materials absorb sewage and cannot be disinfected.
Wash hard surfaces with soap and hot water first, then disinfect with diluted bleach — one cup per gallon — on hard, non-porous surfaces only. Let it sit 10 minutes, then rinse. Never mix bleach with vinegar or ammonia.