IKLAN 1
The rest of your work will be much easier if you have heat, electricity, clean water, and sewage disposal. However, it may take some time for a repair professional to come. Therefore, you should go to Step 6 : Clean Up and do all the cleaning you can do while you wait for one or more of these utility systems to be restored.
Gas and oil systems
If your furnace, water heater, stove, or other gas or oil appliances were flooded to the level of the burners, turn off the valve on the pipe to the appliance. If they were hot when flooded, parts may have cracked. Flood insurance and federal disaster assistance programs will help replace flooded gas and oil appliances. If you want to keep a gas or oil appliance, have it cleaned professionally.
A cracked, plugged, or leaky chimney can cause fires or carbon monoxide poisoning. Be sure you check metal and brick chimneys for dirt, debris, and leaks before lighting the furnace or a fire.
Gas System
If the gas has been turned off at the main valve serving your home, you need to have a professional restore gas service to your home, relight pilot lights, and do a final check of the system.
If the gas valve serving only one appliance is turned off, then you can relight that appliance. First, make sure the room is well-ventilated and that there are no open flames (or bare electric wires) anywhere. Then turn on the gas valve. Check for leaky pipes (see below). Let the gas run for a minute or two to clean any air and impurities out of the pipes. Then turn the gas off for a minute to allow the gas in the air to go away before you light the appliance.
Oil System
Make sure your main oil valve is turned off. Check your oil pump. If it got wet, have the pump professionally checked and cleaned. If you want to clean it yourself, see Step 6 : Clean Up
Look carefully for any signs of leaking oil; if you see any, call a professional. Look for signs that the pipes or oil tank moved during the flood. Oil tanks, even buried ones, will float when flooded. After you have turned the electricity back on, open the main valve and turn the pump on. Check for leaky pipes. (See above.)
Propane, L-P, and Butane
Systems These fuels are kept in pressurized tanks, so there is no electric pump to turn on. Check the tanks for signs of movement or floating. Then follow the instructions above for gas systems.
Electrical System
Check with your building or electrical inspector to see how much work you can do on your wiring. Many local codes require that a licensed electrician do the work, or that a municipal inspector check the system before you can turn the power back on. The electrical system should be tackled in two parts: the main breaker or fuse box and the circuits. If the main box got wet, it should be checked and cleaned by an electrician before you turn the power back on. You should have the electrician move your main box above flood level for future protection.
Meanwhile, if you are comfortable working with electrical fixtures and wiring, you can clean the flooded circuits. Otherwise call an electrician.
To clean a flooded circuit, follow these steps in order:
To test a cleaned circuit:
Public water suppliers usually provide water soon after the flood. If you are unsure of your water supply, only use it to hose your home or for sanitation purposes (flushing the toilet).
Buy bottled water for drinking if you can. Sometimes large water storage tanks called “water buffalos” are brought to communities that need clean water. They are filled with clean drinking water from places outside your area and are towed to your location, often by national guard or U.S. military personnel.
A “boil order” may be issued in your community. If such an order has been issued, do the following:
If you do not smell the chlorine or if the water is still cloudy, add another 16 drops of liquid chlorine bleach and let it stand another half hour. If you smell chlorine, it’s okay to use. If you have treated it again and it still does not smell like chlorine, don’t use it for drinking or cooking.
Do not cook in pots and pans, or use eating utensils, baby blankets, or any other items that could go in the mouth until they have been washed in water that has been tested and approved by the water supplier or health department.
Wells.
Private wells should be pumped until the water is clear. You can decide whether water is clear enough to hose the home and do other cleaning work. Check with the local health department for instructions before you drink or cook with your well water. Their instructions will account for minerals and chemicals that occur naturally in your area. The health department should be able to advise you about the best way to have your water tested if necessary.
If there are no specific instructions from the local health department, follow these steps to treat your well and water:
Check your water heater. If floodwaters got into the gas burner, electrical parts, or insulation, it should be replaced. If you want to save it, have it cleaned and restarted by a professional. Be sure to flush clean water through it before you wash dishes or clothes with hot water.
Sewage disposal
Public sewers should work soon after a flood, but mud and debris might clog them. Flush the toilet before you use it. If it is clogged, check with your local sewer department to see if the problem is in the main line. You may need to clean out the sewer line from your house to the main line.
Septic systems will not work until the ground water level is below the distribution lines. So be careful about flushing the toilet and pouring things down the drain; they may not have anywhere to go. Until your toilet works, you can line it with a plastic trash can liner and dispose of the bag following local public health recommendations.
Leaky Pipes
- Check for leaky fuel pipes by smelling for gas. A chemical that has a disagreeable, distinctive odor is added to natural gas and propane to tell you if there is a leak. If you have any doubts, have a professional check for you. Do not use open flames.
- Make sure the valve that leads to each appliance is closed.
- If you find any pipes that moved or any area that smells like gas, brush soapy water on each pipe connection. The pressure in the pipes will make bubbles appear where there is a leak.
- If you find a leak, turn off the gas. Unscrew the pipe connection, clean the joint, and apply pipe joint compound or pipe tape (available at hardware stores) on the threads. Screw the pieces back together tightly.
- Turn on the gas and check the connection again with soapy water. If you have a leak, or if you are not sure your system is safe, turn off the gas and call a professional immediately.
If your furnace, water heater, stove, or other gas or oil appliances were flooded to the level of the burners, turn off the valve on the pipe to the appliance. If they were hot when flooded, parts may have cracked. Flood insurance and federal disaster assistance programs will help replace flooded gas and oil appliances. If you want to keep a gas or oil appliance, have it cleaned professionally.
A cracked, plugged, or leaky chimney can cause fires or carbon monoxide poisoning. Be sure you check metal and brick chimneys for dirt, debris, and leaks before lighting the furnace or a fire.
Gas System
If the gas has been turned off at the main valve serving your home, you need to have a professional restore gas service to your home, relight pilot lights, and do a final check of the system.
If the gas valve serving only one appliance is turned off, then you can relight that appliance. First, make sure the room is well-ventilated and that there are no open flames (or bare electric wires) anywhere. Then turn on the gas valve. Check for leaky pipes (see below). Let the gas run for a minute or two to clean any air and impurities out of the pipes. Then turn the gas off for a minute to allow the gas in the air to go away before you light the appliance.
Oil System
Make sure your main oil valve is turned off. Check your oil pump. If it got wet, have the pump professionally checked and cleaned. If you want to clean it yourself, see Step 6 : Clean Up
Look carefully for any signs of leaking oil; if you see any, call a professional. Look for signs that the pipes or oil tank moved during the flood. Oil tanks, even buried ones, will float when flooded. After you have turned the electricity back on, open the main valve and turn the pump on. Check for leaky pipes. (See above.)
Propane, L-P, and Butane
Systems These fuels are kept in pressurized tanks, so there is no electric pump to turn on. Check the tanks for signs of movement or floating. Then follow the instructions above for gas systems.
Electrical System
Check with your building or electrical inspector to see how much work you can do on your wiring. Many local codes require that a licensed electrician do the work, or that a municipal inspector check the system before you can turn the power back on. The electrical system should be tackled in two parts: the main breaker or fuse box and the circuits. If the main box got wet, it should be checked and cleaned by an electrician before you turn the power back on. You should have the electrician move your main box above flood level for future protection.
Meanwhile, if you are comfortable working with electrical fixtures and wiring, you can clean the flooded circuits. Otherwise call an electrician.
Electrical Safety
- Use only the electrically operated tools you need, one at a time, to avoid overloading a few working circuits.
- If appliances or motors have gotten wet, have them taken apart, cleaned, and dried. before plugging them back in again.
- Make sure all appliances are properly grounded. This is most important if there was damage to the wiring from the flood or during the cleaning.
- Mud or dirt in a grounded outlet or adapter may prevent the grounding system from working, and you could be electrocuted. If you are unsure of whether your electrical system is properly grounded, call an electrician.
- When in doubt, call an electrician. Electrocution is a major killer in floods.
- Check the switch at the main breaker or fuse box to make sure that the power is still off. Take out the fuses or switch off the breakers to the circuits you will be working on.
- As noted at the end of Step 2 : Give Your Home First Aid , everything should be unplugged and all light bulbs should be removed. The switches and outlets should be out of the wall. Check the switches and outlets and their boxes for mud and dirt which can cause a short or overheating. Hose or wash any mud out of the boxes.
- If you see a lot of mud, dirt, or salt water corrosion in the switches or outlets, replace them. If you want to keep the switches and outlets that were flooded, rinse them thoroughly in a pail of water. Let them dry for at least 24 hours.
- Check the condition of the wire that goes to each switch and each outlet. Replace any fabriccovered wire. Plastic covered wire does not need to be removed unless it has been flooded with salt water. Aluminum wiring may be severely corroded by salt water, so all aluminum wiring that has been flooded by salt water should be replaced before proceeding.
- After everything has dried out, check to make sure the fuses are still out or the breakers are still switched off. Then re-install the switches and outlets or install new ones.
Important
It is very important that your utility systems and appliances be turned back on the correct way. A leaky gas pipe, an ungrounded electrical appliance, or contaminated water is a serious safety and health hazard. If you are not comfortable working on your utilities or appliances, call a professional.
- Make sure nothing is plugged in and no wall switches are turned on.
- Install the fuse or turn the breaker to “ON.” Install the main fuse or turn on the main breaker. Some fuse boxes have a main switch—a handle on the outside of the box that is easier to use than taking out and replacing the main fuses.
- If the fuse blows or the breaker clicks back to “off,” you have a short somewhere. Recheck your cleaning and installation work. If the fuse or breaker are okay, wait 15 minutes and then walk around the home. Look for sparks or the pungent smell of an electrical short. If there are any signs of smoking or heating, if the fuse blows, or if a breaker goes off, turn the power off and call an electrician.
- If there are no signs of problems, turn the power off again. Plug a lamp or small appliance in an outlet on the circuit you just tested, or turn on a light switch. Be sure that the appliance you are using to test each outlet is working properly.
- Turn the power back on and check the fuse or breaker.
- Repeat steps 4 : Dry Out Your Home and 5 : Restore the Utilities for each outlet and wall switch to check for shorts or problems.
- Bathroom and outdoor circuits often have a ground fault circuit interrupter at the breaker box or at a wall outlet. These are very sensitive and may keep tripping the circuit off, so you may have to be extremely thorough in cleaning and drying these circuits.
Public water suppliers usually provide water soon after the flood. If you are unsure of your water supply, only use it to hose your home or for sanitation purposes (flushing the toilet).
Buy bottled water for drinking if you can. Sometimes large water storage tanks called “water buffalos” are brought to communities that need clean water. They are filled with clean drinking water from places outside your area and are towed to your location, often by national guard or U.S. military personnel.
A “boil order” may be issued in your community. If such an order has been issued, do the following:
- Fill a large pot with water from the tap.
- Strain the water through cheesecloth, a sheet, or other clean, porous material to remove as many solids as you can.
- Bring the water to a rumbling boil and let it boil for at least 5 minutes.
- Pour the water back and forth between two clean pots. This will help it cool and will also add air to the water to make it taste better.
- Let the water cool. After it is cool, add 16 drops of liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Let the water stand a half hour. If it gives off a slight chlorine smell and looks clear, it’s OK to use.
Cleanup and Repair—Who does what?
If your house will be unheated for a few days, and the temperature will fall below freezing, you should winterize your water pipes so they will not freeze and break. A plumber can blow out the pipes to make sure they are empty. Or you can take the following steps to protect your water and sewer system from damage due to freezing temperatures:- Shut off the main water valve. (It is usually found at the water meter.)
- Turn on all the faucets in the house, both the hot and the cold taps. Leave them on and let them run.
- Turn off the hot water heater. Open the faucet at the bottom of the water heater to drain it. You may want to connect a hose to the faucet so you can control where the water goes. Be careful; the water may be very hot.
- Flush the toilets to empty their water tanks.
- Wait for the lowest faucet on the house to stop running. (This will usually be a faucet in the basement.) Then check all faucets and toilets. If they have stopped running or are empty, your water system should be drained.
- Pour some propyleneglycolbased antifreeze in all sink, tub, and floor drains and in the toilet bowls. (This type of antifreeze is available through recreational vehicle and mobile home dealers. Do not use regular automotive antifreeze.) These drains have traps that keep water in them.
- You can turn the main valve back on after the building is heated. Do this before you start your repairs. That way, if there is a broken pipe, a water leak won’t cause much damage.
Do not cook in pots and pans, or use eating utensils, baby blankets, or any other items that could go in the mouth until they have been washed in water that has been tested and approved by the water supplier or health department.
Wells.
Private wells should be pumped until the water is clear. You can decide whether water is clear enough to hose the home and do other cleaning work. Check with the local health department for instructions before you drink or cook with your well water. Their instructions will account for minerals and chemicals that occur naturally in your area. The health department should be able to advise you about the best way to have your water tested if necessary.
If there are no specific instructions from the local health department, follow these steps to treat your well and water:
- Open your faucets to pump the water out of your well. Let them run for at least 15 minutes or until you lose pressure.
- Pour one quart of liquid chlorine bleach in the well and leave it for at least four hours. Do not use any water during this time.
- Open all the faucets and let them run until you smell chlorine at each faucet.
- Turn off the faucets and let the water sit in the pipes for two to four hours. Do not use any water during this time.
- Flush out the system by running the taps until you can no longer taste or smell the chlorine.
Check your water heater. If floodwaters got into the gas burner, electrical parts, or insulation, it should be replaced. If you want to save it, have it cleaned and restarted by a professional. Be sure to flush clean water through it before you wash dishes or clothes with hot water.
Sewage disposal
Public sewers should work soon after a flood, but mud and debris might clog them. Flush the toilet before you use it. If it is clogged, check with your local sewer department to see if the problem is in the main line. You may need to clean out the sewer line from your house to the main line.
Septic systems will not work until the ground water level is below the distribution lines. So be careful about flushing the toilet and pouring things down the drain; they may not have anywhere to go. Until your toilet works, you can line it with a plastic trash can liner and dispose of the bag following local public health recommendations.
IKLAN 2