Has your office or, worse, your home ever been flooded? It could be from a broken water supply, a false fire alarm that triggered sprinklers, or a natural disaster that inundates every space with water, silt, or debris, which must be remedied before normal life can go on. In any case, it is a tragic event. One that requires a glut of labour to correct.
I have always been someone who is there to help others, especially in times of disaster or extreme weather events. My willingness has cost me some significant effort and thereby providing me with lessons on what to do next time. Let me tell you now to get the best equipment you can to handle the dirty water clean-up.
During a high rainfall event, a portion of my city was flooded, and a friend’s home is right in the middle of the mess. We saw it was coming and took many precautions, but water will go where nature pushes it, regardless of your efforts. The sandbags, barriers, and sealed sills didn’t stop a drop. We cleaned his home spotless by hand, no equipment.
Seven days later, it flooded again. Again, I stepped in to help, but this time my preparation was in reserving a carpet cleaning machine. Seven days ago, they were all rented. Not this time. I was not going to repeat all that effort, and he was not going to replace everything again.
Hiring those wet vacuum machines and ventilation fans made quick work of the mess. My friend didn’t have the space to warrant a riding wet-vac machine, but for large spaces in an office or commercial building, I doubt there is anything better. You can sit atop this carpet scrubber and work in layers of removal of silt, soaping and cleaning, then drying large areas.
I did get very familiar with the walk-behind machine. It was similar to a standard vacuum in size and operation, with the added ability to dispense cleaning liquid and remove all grime. Again, we started with the removal of dirty water until nearly dry. We would dispense a foaming agent that lifted any fine particles to the top of the foam, making it simple to capture and remove.
The hand-held spot cleaners were invaluable in reaching all the small corners and getting into the tight areas of closets and stairs. In the beginning, I wanted these tools to have larger tanks so I could get more work accomplished in one go. Later, I came to appreciate the smaller tanks, pacing myself with regular emptying and a break.
Finally, the air movers were used. Powerful motors drive fans which are ducted to focus airflow across the top of the carpet using the best of physics to atomize and remove the moisture before it could set into everything else in the home. A large extraction fan at the main entrance will assist in creating household air flow in one direction.
Just before the second flood, we moved many things upstairs or set them upon tables to increase the survivability of what could not be moved in time. Yes, he still owns this home and performs regular maintenance tasks to avoid causing flooding by neglecting repairs. However, Mother Nature will do as she pleases.
Have a flood plan. Act early and reserve cleaning equipment. Get your stuff out or put it up. Contact government disaster relief programs early as well. The list gets long and services slow when disaster strikes. Don’t forget to have good friends with empathy and energy. The last is most essential, most difficult, but also the most beneficial for life in general. Be good to your mates.
