Cleaning Up After a Flood: A UK Step-by-Step Recovery Guide
Estimated reading time 12 minutes
Most of our work is about stopping floods before they happen, through flood risk assessment and drainage design. But flooding still happens, and when it does the clean-up is hard, dirty and often distressing. This guide walks you through it in order: how to stay safe, what to record for your insurer, how to get the water out, what you can save and what has to go, how to dry the building properly, and how to make sure you are never in this position again.
If the flooding is serious, professional flood restoration firms can do the heavy lifting, and your insurance may pay for it. Even so, most property owners end up making a start themselves, so it is worth knowing how to do it well.
Stay safe first
Floodwater is more dangerous than it looks, so deal with safety before anything else.
Do not turn your gas, electricity or water back on until a qualified engineer has checked them. If the power is off and the light is poor, use a torch or your phone, never a naked flame. Floodwater can carry sewage, and a build-up of gas in an enclosed space can be ignited by a spark or a flame.
Treat all floodwater as contaminated. Wear rubber gloves, sturdy waterproof boots and a face mask while you work, and wash your hands thoroughly with warm water and soap whenever you take a break. Keep cuts covered.
Take a slow walk around the outside and inside of the building before you start. Moving water is powerful and can leave damage you would not expect: dislodged walls, weakened door frames, lifted paving, hidden holes and trip hazards. If anything looks structurally unsafe, stop and get a professional opinion before going further. For a commercial property, make the building safe before any staff come back in, whether to help clear up or simply to see the place.
Document the damage before you start
This is the step people most often skip, and it can cost them later.
Before you move or clean anything, photograph everything. Capture the flood line on the walls, the standing water, the damaged contents and the state of each room. Record the height the water reached. If you start cleaning first, your insurer may question the claim because there is no evidence of the damage.
Contact your insurance company as early as you can. They will tell you what to do next, and importantly what you are allowed to move or throw away before an assessor has been. Keep a written list of damaged items as you go.
Get the water and silt out
Once the building is safe and the damage is recorded, speed matters. The faster the water and mud come out, the more you can save.
If there is standing water, your local fire service may be able to help pump it out, or you can hire a pump and generator from a builders' merchant or hire shop. Don't forget the spaces you can't see, under suspended floors and in voids, where dirty water and silt collect and sit.
Open windows and doors to get air moving, as long as it isn't still raining in. Shovel out the worst of the silt while it is wet, because it is far harder to remove once it dries and sets.
What to throw away and what you can save
Some things can be cleaned and kept. Others have to go, however new or valuable, because contaminated water leaves bacteria and residues you cannot fully remove. When in doubt, check with your insurer before binning anything, and put contaminated items aside rather than in general waste, as your council may need to collect them separately.
Carpets, rugs and underlay
Fitted carpet that has been under floodwater almost always has to be lifted and thrown away, and the underlay with it. If only part of a carpet got wet you may be able to save it by extracting the water quickly and bringing in a professional cleaner. Loose rugs stand a better chance: get them out of the water, rinse off the worst of the mud and have them professionally cleaned and dried.
Furniture and upholstery
Solid wooden furniture can often be saved. Move it out into the air to dry slowly, and wash the silt off with warm water and washing-up liquid. It is hard work but it gives the timber the best chance. Sofas, armchairs and other upholstered furniture are a different matter: once dirty floodwater has soaked into the padding it tends to leave smells and residues even after drying, so much of it ends up beyond saving. Mattresses that have been in floodwater should always be thrown away. Office desks and chairs usually only need a wipe down and a dry.
Electrical appliances
Do not be tempted to switch anything on to see if it still works. A wet appliance can give you an electric shock or start a fire. Dry everything out, then have each item checked by a qualified electrician before it goes back into use. Anything that stayed clear of the water should be boxed up and stored somewhere dry and well away from the clean-up.
Clean and disinfect
Once the water and silt are gone, clean every hard surface that floodwater touched, including walls, floors and skirting. Use hot water and ordinary detergent first to get the dirt off, then disinfect, because floodwater is likely to have been contaminated.
Pay particular attention to the kitchen. Clean and disinfect all worktops, and wash crockery, pans, chopping boards, utensils and anything else that touches food before you use it again. Throw away wooden items such as chopping boards and spoons that have been in floodwater, as they can't be reliably disinfected.
Dry out your home (and stop mould)
Getting the building properly dry is the single most important part of the repair, and the part people rush. Damp left in walls and floors leads to mould, and mould brings its own health problems and damage.
Work quickly. Aim to be cleaning and drying within 24 to 48 hours where you safely can, because that is the window in which mould is most likely to take hold. Keep the building ventilated by opening windows and doors, run fans to move the air, and use a dehumidifier to pull moisture out. Don't run domestic or commercial heaters on wet floors without checking with a professional first.
Be realistic about how long it takes. A single room caught quickly might dry in a few days. A seriously flooded house, where water has reached walls, insulation and the subfloor, can take weeks or even months to dry out fully, often with professional drying equipment. Rushing repairs and redecoration before the structure is dry is one of the most common and expensive mistakes people make.
Food, water and clothing
Don't eat any food that has been in contact with floodwater, and that includes sealed jars and tins, which can be contaminated around the seal. If the power has been off, throw away food from the fridge if it has been off for more than four hours, and food from the freezer if it has been off for more than 24 hours.
Be careful with tap water. If you notice any change in its colour, taste or smell, stop using it and contact your water company.
Wash clothing, bedding, curtains and soft furnishings that can be laundered at 60°C or higher to kill bacteria, and wash anything used for cleaning on a separate cycle from everything else. If your washing machine was affected, a launderette can advise on the right wash. Once things are clean, store the bulk of them away from the building while the repairs are finished.
Insurance, renting and support
Keep talking to your insurer throughout. Give them your photographs and your list of damaged items, and ask before disposing of anything significant. If you rent your home, repairs are usually your landlord's responsibility, so report the damage to them straight away.
Flooding takes a toll beyond the building, so don't try to carry it alone. Floodline offers 24-hour information and advice on 0345 988 1188, your local council can help with disposal and may know of grants or support, and it is worth speaking to friends, family or your GP if the experience has knocked you. If you are worried about cover or premiums afterwards, our guide to what Flood Re is and how it helps explains the scheme that keeps flood insurance affordable for at-risk homes, and a flood risk assessment for insurance can give an insurer the property-specific evidence they need. If you are thinking further ahead, we have also written on whether flood risk affects house prices and on declaring flood history when you sell.
Stop it happening again: property flood resilience
Once the worst is over, most people have the same thought: never again. There is a lot you can do to make a real difference, and it is far cheaper than another clean-up. The discipline is called property flood resilience, or PFR, and the case for it is strong. Industry figures suggest that every £1 spent on resilience measures saves around £5 in future flood damage, that the right measures can cut repair costs by up to roughly 70 per cent, and that they are typically effective up to around 600mm of water.
PFR works in two ways. Resistance measures try to keep water out, using flood barriers across doorways, covers over airbricks, non-return valves on drains and pumps to clear what does get in. Recoverability measures accept that water may enter and make the building quick to dry and put right, for example by laying tiles or solid floors instead of carpet, fitting water-resistant plaster, and raising electrical sockets and services up the wall. Keeping your drainage clear matters too; our note on maintaining your drains to prevent surface water flooding covers the basics, and our guide to property flood resilience goes into the measures in detail.
The most useful first step is to understand the actual risk to your specific property rather than a postcode-level estimate. That is what we do. As flood risk consultants, Unda can carry out a flood risk assessment or a flood risk survey for your property that identifies how water reaches your home and which resistance and recoverability measures are worth the money. To see how repeated flooding shapes whole communities, and why prevention matters so much, our piece on the legacy of the Lewes floods is a sobering read.
Frequently asked questions
Anywhere from a couple of days to several weeks or months. A single room caught quickly can dry in two or three days with the right equipment. A badly flooded house, where water has soaked into walls, insulation and the subfloor, often needs weeks of professional drying. Don't redecorate until it is properly dry.
Anything porous that has been soaked in contaminated water and can't be cleaned and dried quickly: fitted carpet and underlay, mattresses, most upholstered furniture, and food that touched floodwater. Solid wood, metal, glass and sealed hard surfaces can usually be cleaned, disinfected and kept.
Fitted carpet and underlay that have been under floodwater almost always have to go. Loose rugs, and carpets that were only partly wet, can sometimes be saved if you extract the water fast and have them professionally cleaned and dried.
Yes. It often contains sewage, chemicals and debris, so treat it as contaminated. Wear gloves, boots and a mask, keep cuts covered, wash your hands after handling anything, and don't let children or pets near the affected areas until they are clean.
Throw away any food that touched floodwater, including tins and sealed jars. If the power was off, bin fridge food after four hours and freezer food after 24 hours.
Floodline gives 24-hour advice on 0345 988 1188. Contact your insurer to start a claim, and your local council about disposal, skips and any available support. If your home is rented, tell your landlord, who is responsible for repairs.
Property flood resilience measures, from door barriers and airbrick covers to raised electrics and solid floors, reduce both the chance of water entering and the damage it does. A property-specific flood risk assessment is the best way to find out which measures are worth installing for your home.
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