Experts Give Flooding Cleanup Tips

Cleanup begins after major flooding

Flooding has hit many families in the Northland and some local businesses have been busy helping cleanup.

Kevin Buck, owner of Servpro of the Twin Ports, says if you can’t get professional help and your basement is flooded, you should remove anything that is wet.

Buck says first remove rugs, carpets and their pads, and the baseboards off the sides of the walls.

Then, drill one inch holes right above the floor so the walls can dry.

“One of the biggest problems that happens is the wall cavities get saturated with moisture and there’s nowhere for that wet air to go and so it creates mold inside the wall cavities,” said Buck.

Buck says even though it seems like you should, don’t turn on any fans or evaporation equipment until you have the proper dehumidification system in place that can handle it.

“That’s a common mistake people make and then they end up having a lot of destroyed furnishings and Christmas decorations and family pictures and those kinds of things,” said Buck.

He says you want to act as quick as you can in a standing water situation because the longer it sits, the easier it is for mold to grow.