Disinfection After Flood Damage

Flood damage can be brought to a minimum if proper and immediate recovery procedures are implemented. While a complete recovery procedure would require cleaning, repairing, and disinfecting of the areas affected by flood damage, this article will zoom into the topic of disinfection.

Disinfecting is specifically concerned with eliminating disease-carrying microorganisms since a lot of water-bourne microorganisms sprout after a flood. Some of these may cause dysentery, cholera or typhoid.

Eliminating most of these microorganisms would require the use of certain chemicals. Actually, there are only two very popular ones: chlorine bleach and salt. Luckily, these two are easily available, providing a relatively cheap solution to flood damage.

Chlorine bleach

Among the most popularly used is sodium hypochlorite, also known as liquid chlorine bleach. While different sources have varying specifications of the solution, a common one is having 10% bleach in water solution. This is ideal for disinfecting hard surfaces that have been contaminated by flood waters containing sewage. Rinsing should follow immediately after the disinfecting process.

Chlorine bleach is also ideal for clothes that have been soaked in floodwaters, especially if the flood water had been contaminated with sewage waste. Drying these clothes will never suffice. Disinfection is necessary if these clothes are to have contact with human skin again.

Some households have private wells in their compounds. This type of solution can also be used to treat these wells. 10% of chlorine bleach can be mixed with 100 gallons of water then poured or pumped into the well.

The chlorine solution should be allowed to stay for at least 24 hours. After which, the chlorinated water should be allowed to run outdoors.

Despite this process, the treated water has to be sampled after one week and brought to state-certified laboratory for testing.

A rule of thumb in preparing the bleach solution is that if it doesn't have a chlorine odor to it, then the preparation lacks bleach. This may be possible for severely contaminated water. Remember that, after a flood, your water source might be contaminated as well. If after adding bleach for 15 minutes and still it doesn't have the chlorine odor, another water source has to be located.

Rock salt

Another popular disinfectant is rock salt. The usual preparation is 1 cup of rock salt per gallon of water. However, special care must be done to prevent it from making contact with concrete, as it would cause the concrete to chip, fragment, and flake. If salt has to be applied on a dry wall, thorough rinsing has to be done after.

To apply, sprinkle the floor or wall with the water solution. This will make a strong brine. Allow it to stand for a few minutes before rinsing it off with a soap solution. This treatment can remove odors as well as prevent the growth of molds or mildew.

While structural flood damage is the usual concern after a flood, health-related flood damage problems also pose a serious threat. It is therefore necessary to be informed of basic disinfection solutions. This should minimize the effects of health problems due to flood damage.

About the Author

Isolde Werry is an homeowner advocate for Nassau County, NY emergency flood damage clean up and Long Island, NY flooding emergency service

Author Profile: werry55

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