Clothing and Textile Restoration After Flood Damage in Richardson

6/28/2021 (Permalink)

When returning to a flooded property, take the following steps to ensure your safety and minimize any further damage when salvaging clothing and other

Water is one of the most destructive elements. Besides damage to floors, walls, and ceilings, you could also be looking at water-logged clothing and textiles after a flood. What steps do you need to take to save your belongings?

We’ll cover our clothing and textile restoration steps in this article. Contact us today for a free estimate on restoring your water-damaged property in Richardson.

Salvaging Textiles: Precautions to Take

When returning to a flooded property, take the following steps to ensure your safety and minimize any further damage when salvaging clothing and other textiles:

• Soiled garments can be contaminated with bacteria-laden grey and blackwater after a flood. So, wear gloves and tall boots that adequately cover your arms and legs. If the area is dusty and musty, consider wearing a mask. 
• Be careful to avoid stretching the fabric. Gently lift water-logged textiles and place them on a solid surface for support when moving the items. 

Clothing and Textile Damage From Flooding: What and How to Salvage

Textiles that are beyond at-home cleaning, won’t thoroughly dry, or otherwise fit these categories can still be salvaged by the professionals at SERVPRO of Richardson:

• Have discoloration and stains unlikely to lift in your home washing machine
• Are severely contaminated with fuel oil or sewage
• Are embedded with fiberglass insulation or chemical contaminants

Additionally, very thick clothing or blankets, stuffed animals, and animal beds should not be washed in residential washers and should instead be taken to a professional textile cleaner like SERVPRO. This is because residential washers do not use enough water pressure to properly reach and push the contaminants out of the textile. Likewise, textiles that are delicate should not be put into regular washers because they use agitation to clean which can damage them.

Textiles and clothing that can otherwise be cleaned and dried and aren’t contaminated with the above can be salvaged at home or at a dry cleaner. In that case, you’ll want to separate the items based on whether they must be dry cleaned, machine, or hand washed. Further, sort the items based on color and washing temperature.

Clean, Disinfect, and Pretreat

Floodwater is contaminated with bacteria, so simply drying wet clothes from a flood won’t suffice. You’ll need to disinfect the items with bleach, OxiClean, or a similar disinfectant safe for fabrics. 

Clean and sanitize your washing machine with hot water and bleach before you wash machine washable clothing. Then clean and pretreat the items:

• Rewet damp clothes with clean water to wash away debris. Outside with a garden hose is best. 
• Dried textiles must be shaken, brushed, or scraped to remove dirt. Then rinse these items with clean, cool water. 

Machine Washing Flood-Damaged Textiles:

• Prewash the items to avoid staining. Use cold water with a strong detergent. Only wash a small load, but fill the washing machine to a full level. Use an enzymatic cleaner in the prewash cycle to clean sewage. Rinse, then spin dry. Then, complete the next step before machine drying.
• The next step is to wash the items in the hottest water that’s safe for the fabrics. Use a strong detergent and disinfectant. Repeat until satisfied, then you can dry. 
• Drying will set stains, so be sure to remove stains with pre washing and washing before you turn on the dryer. Use the regular setting. But if you’re worried about shrinkage, line dry your items. 
• Iron the textiles to kill any remaining germs. 

Handwashing:

• Pre rinse with cold water.
• Prewash with a safe detergent and disinfectant
• Wash by hand with the right temp and detergent safe for the fabric.
• Lay flat to dry
• Iron to kill remaining germs

Dry Cleaning:

• Scrape off any mud and debris outside. Do not rinse a dry clean only item.
• Dry the textiles outside in the sun to eliminate mold growth
• Once dry, take the fabrics to a dry cleaner

Restoration After Flood Damage in Richardson

If your property has suffered water damage, give us a call today at (972) 690-1414 for an estimate on our water damage restoration services in Richardson.