I had floodwater in my house. What sort of remediation am I looking at?

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At Ashlar, I firmly b that an educated home buyer or seller is best equipped to make their own decisions. That’s why I take time out of my day each and every day to answer someone’s real estate question.  And, when I think the answer can be useful to you as well, I share it here.  So without further ado:

Question:

I had floodwater in my house.
What sort of remediation am I looking at?

Floodwater is terrible nasty stuff. Poop from every animal including human sewage, chemicals, debris… everything you can think of..

Basically if flood water touched the walls then everything up to 4 feet from the floor needs to be torn out and thrown away except something like a toilet.

If flood water went above 4′ then it’s a full removal. But cabinets, drywall, beds, ikea/chipboard/particleboard furniture… it all has to go as it soaks it up floodwater and harbors terrible things.

Once you’re down to the studs you run dryers / blowers to dry everything down to low moisture content. Then you spray to kill mold and then spray to encapsulate the wood to prevent future outbreaks of mold as the spores are can still be there.

Then you put the house back together.

Yes, I know, some of your neighbors won’t do this. Many just “air it out”. They are putting the health of themselves and their family at significant risk.

I’m not going to lie. FEMA sucks, dealing with a flood claim with them sucks, and they are not going to give you everything you need. But they will give you enough to get the bulk of it done, which is better than nothing.

You should value the health of yourself and family more than the value of money.

If you have any specific questions let me know.

Kyle Sasser

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