Now that the flood waters are starting to abate, people are slowly returning to their homes and trying to get back to their everyday lives. The first task at hand is to make their homes livable again and this means cleaning up the dirt and grime left by the flood.
It is important however to not just clean out the visible dirt but also the germs that the flood water has left behind. Below are the things we believe will make this task easier:
- The “balde/walis tingting combo” is the normal manner in which flood residue is cleaned up. If you can get access to a pressure washer (the ones you see when having your car washed) this would make house cleaning a lot more efficient. There are many brands out there like Black and Decker, Bosch etc. These can be found in your larger more modern hardware shops.
- After the preliminary pressure washing of the home, a mixture of commercial grade muriatic acid and water can be used for scrubbing the affected areas to serve as a disinfectant.
- A mix of ½ tablespoon of lye with a gallon of water is applied next in order to neutralize the acid.
- Waterstains and floodline marks can be an eyesore, so buying reputable paint brands such as Boysen or Nation (of whatever your personal preference may be) to paint over these would be the next step. For concrete normally flat latex is used as a first coat, then when this is dry a second coat of a Gloss or Semi-gloss is used to finish up.
If you guys have any other useful tips please feel free to post away!
Stay safe!
Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ironchefbalara/ Creative Commons Some Right Reserved. Flickr user ironchefbalara does not endorse MC Home Depot nor the use of the photograph.
