Floods can be devastating, both emotionally and financially. Even if your family manages to get away from the flood unscathed, the same can’t be said for your things, and more importantly, your house.
The merciless and destructive power of the torrents probably destroyed a lot of your things, and in worse cases, made your house unlivable. It’s dangerous living inside a home that’s been flooded. Flooded homes are exposed to mud, grime, as well as various kinds of harmful chemicals and contaminants that can put you and your family’s health at risk if you choose to live there again.
Of course, there are ways to restore your home to its condition before the flood. However, you can’t be blamed for wanting to sell the home after a flood as well.
Either way, whether you plan on returning to your flooded home, or you want to sell it, you’ll find these tips below useful as long as you act quickly.
1. Call your insurance company
Hopefully, you got insurance and it covers flood damage. If not, then, you can still try and call your insurance company on what kind of damages can be covered so you can at least try to recoup some of the costs.
Make sure to do this as soon as you’re able to go back to your home. This way, the insurance company can send someone immediately to check and assess the damage. Also, don’t forget to document everything. Take photos and videos of the extent of the damage before you start cleaning everything.
2. Wash away as much dirt, mud, and grime as you can
You can either hire someone to hose away as much dirt, mud, and grime from your house, especially the hard surfaces, or you can do it yourself.
If you have the budget, a cleaning company that specializes in flood damage might be good idea.
3. Don’t forget to disinfect your stuff
Even if your home appears to be clean already, there might still be contaminants lurking about.
As an added precaution, make sure that you disinfect most of your stuff. In particular, china, glass, and other stuff that you use in your kitchen should be soaked in a strong sterilizing solution for as long as 30 minutes first to make sure that all contaminants are removed.
Don’t forget to take proper precautions before doing this, such as wearing a mask and gloves.
4. Don’t reuse your mattresses
You can’t salvage mattresses after a flood.
5. Hire a professional to assess damage and make repairs
Your ceilings, walls, paneling, wall boards, and others, could have been damaged by the flood. If not, then they might become health hazards because they can soak up the water from the flood and become a cesspool for molds to grow.
Hire a professional to check your house to see for any signs of damage and mold so that they can be removed and repaired as soon as possible.
One of the hardest things after a flood is to clean your home, and you can’t just sell house fast after a flood the conventional way without taking a huge dent on your total contract price because you are in no position to negotiate.
There is a way to sell your flooded home for a fair price, however.
You can contact cash buyers, such as us, to try and sell your house as-is. We buy houses, regardless of their state, for a reasonable price. We buy houses NJ for cash without asking for any additional fee other than what’s stated in our offer and make sure that you can move on from the flood in as little as a few weeks with your cash on hand.
