FLOOD08132 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

must be grounded have a round third prong or a grounding wire on their plugs. Review the infor- mation on your electrical system in Step 5. Refrigerators, freezers, and ovens are more complicated. They may have foam insulation and sealed components that suf- fered little water damage. But these appliances hold food, and so they should be cleaned, dis- infected, and checked by a professional or replaced. If your repair person says an expensive appliance should be replaced, get the opinion in writing and discuss it with your insurance adjuster before you spend money for another one. Clothing and Linens Even if your washing machine did not get wet, do not use it until you know that the water is safe enough to drink and that your sewer line works. (Perhaps a friend or relative has a washing machine you can use until yours is clean and working.) Before you wash clothes in the washing machine, run the machine through one full cycle. Be sure to use hot water and a disinfectant or sanitizer. Take clothes and linens out- doors and shake out dried mud or dirt before you wash them. Hose off muddy items to remove all dirt before you put them in the washer. That way your drain won't clog. Check the labels on clothes and linens, and wash them in detergent and warm water if possible. Adding chlorine bleach to the wash cycle will remove fir- S" p '--Cle;n-Up .~l- most mildew and will sanitize the clothing, but bleach fades some fabrics and damages other fabrics. You can buy other sani- tizers, such as pine oil cleaners, at the grocery store to sanitize fabrics that cannot be bleached. If the label says "Dry Clean Only;" shake out loose dirt and take the item to a professional cleaner. furs and leather items are usually worth the cost of professional cleaning. If you want to clean leather yourself, wash the mud off and dry the leather slowly away from heat or sunlight. Kitchen Items Throw out soft plastic and porous items that probably absorbed whatever the floodwa- ters carried. floodwaters are contaminated, so you may want to wash dishes by hand in a dis- infectant. Air dry the disinfected dishes; do not use a dish towel. Like the washing machine, the dishwasher should be used only after you know your water is safe to drink and your sewer line works. Clean and disinfect it first. Then use a hot water set- ting to wash your pots, pans, dishes, and utensils. (If you have an energy saving setting, do not use it.) Food Throw out any food that has been touched by floodwaters. Even canned food should be dis- carded if the cans got wet ,during the flood because there is no way to be absolutely certain the food inside is safe. Do not keep food in bottles or jars with bot- 27