Overview
Over the last few days Auckland has seen an astronomical amount of rain. Starting from the 27th of January, which was the wettest day Auckland has ever seen in its history.
Floods destroyed many homes, stores and facilities, forcing people to evacuate. People were seen leaving their homes that were flooded up to waist high, and in some areas the water was even higher. Wet, unstable land led to landslides, homes leaked and roads overflowed with water leaving cars broken down and strained on the road.
Auckland airport terminal flooded and was closed until midday the next day and some grocery stores shut, such as New World in New Market due to flooding and impact on stock.
Now the hardest part starts – the clean-up; removing contaminated items, wet carpet and more.
Wet carpet
The dangers of leaving wet carpet down can be worse than just ripping up the carpet up and starting new. Wet damaged carpet can hold water extremely well and for a long period of time, this results in mould forming and than developing into black mould which can be deadly.
Therefore, ripping up the carpet and underlay is one of the first things you need to do if your house or a room has been affected by the flooding.
Ripping up the carpet
Carpet removal is easy with the right tool. All you need is a blade knife. To start the removal process, lift one corner of the carpet up and pull back as hard as you can, as you pull take your blade knife and cut the carpet into wide strips. This will make the carpet easy to move, as wet carpet can be heavy. Work your way around the room, watching out for the little nails on the edges of the carpet.
Once the carpet is cut and in strips and rolled up, move the carpet into one pile outside, making sure the pile is on your property.
Disposing of the wet carpet
If you removed a whole house load of carpet, a skip bin is the best way to remove the waste. The perk of a skip bin is that you can load as you remove the carpet.
If you don’t have space on your property for a skip or flexi bin, we can come collect your carpet for you. We provide truck rubbish removal service around the Auckland region. Place your carpet in a pile, give us a ring for an estimate quote and we will come remove and dispose of your carpet for you.
Wet furniture/items
If your furniture and items also got wet, there is a high chance that they are contaminated with the mud and dirt from the water. This can cause items to become moldy and dangerous to your health. We recommend removing and disposing of all furniture items that were badly affected in the flood. Items such as wooden drawers, dressers, bed bases and mattresses soak up a lot of water and are almost impossible to restore, therefore they need to be disposed of.
Disposing furniture can be done by taking the items to the tip in a trailer, hiring a skip bin or calling us to remove your items for you.
Wet floorboards
Wet floorboards need the water swiped off it immediately, as water soaks into the pours of the wood. Therefore, sweeping the water outside and placing dry towels down to soak up the water is the first step. If the flood waters were too high and the floor boards are destroyed, you will have to get a professional in to help you rip up your floor boards and replace them.
If your floor boards only got a little wet, dry them with towels, place multiple fans pointing on the floor and open windows for air to circulate. Open curtains and blinds so the sun can also dry the floorboards.
Once the floorboards are damp or dry, disinfect the area.
Once disinfecting is completed, its time to dry the area again. This means setting up fans to blow on wet areas and ensuring air/wind is flowing through the house from open windows and doors.
At night, when you need to close up the house, use dehumidifiers and fans to continue the drying process while you sleep.
If you need information on flood support go to www.civildefence.govt.nz
