It doesn’t take long after a flood for your personal items to become ruined. Trying to clean your belongings after a disaster can seem overwhelming and even useless. However, not everything has to be thrown out – in fact, content cleaning services can be pretty successful. So before you get too discouraged, here is everything you need to know about cleaning damaged items.
First, prioritize your items. Go through your most valuable items first, like photos and documents. These items also degrade faster than other more sturdy belongings so it is important to get them out of the damaged area as quickly as possible. Things like artwork, family heirlooms, antiques, and collectibles will have much better odds of successful cleaning when removed from the damaged area in a timely manner. The most important step in getting these items cleaned is to get them dried. Spread out paper documents and photos on top of clean materials that can absorb the water like towels or pads to allow adequate drying. If needed, you can carefully blot papers with microfiber cloths. For photographs, carefully rinse them in clean water and air dry by hanging them from their corners to prevent wrinkling. For those more expensive items, like antiques and artwork, it is best to leave cleaning to professionals who have expert training in cleaning and salvaging items.
The next items you should address are fabrics and textiles. Before just throwing these items in the washing machine, you should use a garden hose to rinse mud and debris off of them. Then, once all debris is removed, you can run them through a pre-wash cycle with cold water and heavy detergent. Then finish off by washing belongings on the safest hot water setting. It is important to keep in mind that fabric bleeding may occur following water damage, so those may require professional services.
Wood furniture and flooring will also need cleaning services after sustaining water damage. Wood will absorb water and then cause warping and staining, so it is important to get them dried out quickly. Wash them down with clean water, and then wipe with wood alcohol to prevent mold growth. Wood can then be sanded down, stained, and finished. If you are unsure how to treat your wood furniture, you can always let professionals handle cleaning and restoring these pieces to get the best results.
Even all your best efforts may not be successful when it comes to content cleaning following water damage. Oftentimes, cleanup for water damaged items requires special equipment and techniques that are only available to professionals who have the experience and training to get the best results. The highly trained team at All About Contents offers content cleaning services to restore all cleanable items back to pre-loss condition following water damage, and even smoke and mold damage as well. We offer emergency and non-emergency response services in Dallas with state-of-the-art equipment and specialized chemicals for each type of belonging from linens and clothing, to artwork and antiques, and everything in between. We know how important your belongings are, and that is why we offer the best content cleaning services to help you get your items back to pre-loss condition.
