7 Tips for Salvaging Valuables After Floods

Whether you experience a burst pipe or high water from too much rain, it is possible to salvage some of your possessions instead of losing everything you care about in a flood.

Although you need to act quickly, you can save old photographs, books, furniture, and other things that you value. Use these seven tips to save your items after flooding.

Prioritize What to Save

When you access the damage, begin to prioritize what items to save and which to get rid of in your home. Try to save your valuable possessions first and then those that are sentimental to you.

The sentimental possessions may hold more value to you than any furniture or appliances that you’ll lose.

Air-Dry Things You Want to Save

If the weather permits it, open the windows and turn on fans to allow the interior of your house to air-dry. Using hair dryers, placing things out in the sun, or the heat from ovens may irreversibly damage whatever it is that you’re trying to save.

Wash Wood Furniture

After air drying solid wood furniture, sanitize it by taking it outside or to an area where you can wash it with mild soap and water. Depending on how dirty it is, you may need to use a brush to get off the dirt and mud. After cleaning it, allow it to dry, and refinish the furniture if it is necessary.

Hire Professional Drying Services

A flood will destroy most electronics due to water getting to the circuit boards and other components. However, you may be able to salvage some of them by hiring professional drying services provided by restoration businesses like metrowiderestoration.com.

Saving Important Documents

As long as they haven’t been underwater for a long time, you may be able to salvage paper documents, books, or important letters. Separate the pages of books and place absorbent papers between the pages to help them dry.

With documents, remove staples or paperclips and separate each page to dry separately. If the pages do not dry within two days, freeze the materials to keep mold from growing on them. Then, remove it from the deep freeze to dry again and finish the restoration process.

Saving Photographs

If your family photos sustain damage in flood, then you can clean them to help save them. Rinse them in clean water and air-dry the photos by placing them on towels, plastic screening material, or hanging them on a line with plastic clothespins.

Keep the photo surfaces from touching anything as they dry.

Save Items for Appraisal

Whatever personal items, electronics, or furniture you cannot save, pile it in the garage or in a corner to show the insurance adjuster.

Some of the items may be covered by your insurance policy if you have flood insurance or by your standard homeowner’s policy if the damage was due to burst pipes.

With a little effort, you may be able to restore the family heirlooms, important documents, and priceless photographs of your extended family.

Try to clean everything as thoroughly as possible, allow it to air-dry, and take apart items that are slow drying, like wooden furniture. By following these tips, you can save some of the memories and valuables you have gathered over the years.