3 Tips for Cleaning Your Store Inventory After a Flood

4/16/2022 (Permalink)

Flooded office from a storm in Cincinnati, OH.

Tips for Cleaning Up Your Store's Inventory

When violent storms in Cincinnati, OH, affect your business and cause flooding, your inventory could suffer such serious damage that you may not know where to begin with cleanup efforts. Knowing which items might be salvaged for content cleaning and which must be thrown away can be a confusing process, but there are a few tips you can keep in mind as you sort through your items.

1. Porous Items Are Not Usually Salvageable

When floods occur during a storm, the water source is likely either runoff from overflowing nearby rivers or creeks or from backed-up sewage drains that are heavily taxed by torrential rain. In either case, the water is likely contaminated with chemicals and human and animal waste and is known as black water because of its source. As such, you may not be able to salvage porous items because of the danger of contamination, including:

• Many plastics
  
• Drywall
  
• Clothing
  
  

If you are unsure about any item you wish to salvage, you can ask your local flood restoration service whether it is porous and may retain contaminated floodwater.

2. Make a List of Salvaged Items

As you clean up after a flood, you may want to track your salvaged items and keep a list of those you want to save. While paper items are porous, storm damage and flood restoration service may be able to help you rescue important documents by freezing and decontaminating them. This type of content cleaning may help you avoid losing customer data, employee records and other vital information.

3. Set Aside Electronic Devices

Your store's electronic items such as cash registers, credit card machines, and computers may suffer considerably during flooding. However, depending on the degree of water damage, you may be able to salvage and repair them to lower any insurance claim deductibles. Avoid throwing away any electronics until you speak to a professional content cleaning service.
When major storms strike Cincinnati, OH, they can cause flooding that may affect your business. Keeping the above tips in mind as you begin the cleanup process may help you feel more confident about the outcome.