What You Need to Know About Flood Cleanup and Indoor Air Quality
When faced with flooding in a home, the air quality is usually not of immediate concerns. All that is needed at that time is to stop the flooding and restore the normal use of the home. However, if, during cleaning, there are no regards to the air quality, this may cause a variety of unpleasant health consequences. Here is a brief overview of what is needed to be done to not compromise the air quality when cleaning after floods.
Prepare adequately for the cleanup
Not every household or business may be well equipped to deal with a typical water damage cleaning, and for this reason, most people will opt for the services of flood cleaning experts in Montreal. However, if you are to do it by yourself, then ensure that you start by switching off all the electricity supplies, taking everyone to a safe place and away from the flooded region, and documenting the damage if you will be making any insurance claims. Also, this is when you decide on how you will drain the water as well as the specific cleaning supplies you will need for the job.
Removing the wet material
This is where your concern for air quality should begin. A typical flooding will leave a trail of damage, and you may end up throwing out some of your valuable household items because of flood damage. Before you choose what to keep and what to throw away, you first need to take all the wet items out and allow them to dry.
With these items, it is not possible to clean and restore their use within 48 hours, and their continued stay inside the house will only increase the humidity and moisture content, hence, making the grounds perfect for bacteria proliferation.
Choose your cleaners and disinfectants wisely
A typical flood cleaning process – whether you do it yourself or you call for cleaning after flood damage professionals, will involve thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the floors, walls, closets, shelves, and other contents of the house. These cleaners, disinfectants, and sanitizers may contain harmful substances that may linger even after the cleaning process is over.
They are what might cause a variety of respiratory problems once the water damage cleaning is over. Consequently, you should choose your cleaners, disinfectants, and sanitizers carefully and avoid any that might hurt your health in the future. For such jobs, always consider green cleaning products, since they are safe and will not risk your health in any way.
Leave no room for microbial growth
Standing waters may create the right environment for microbial growth, especially if the flooding happened in the basement, and you did a poor job with the basement flood cleanup in Montreal. Other than removing all the stagnant waters, you should also dry out your home completely to further prevent microbial growth, and to reduce the humidity for better indoor air quality.