Flood housing recovery: How to fix and prevent damage

Contaminates furniture

Hurricane Harvey aftermath, 2017 (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)

Most upholstered furniture, mattresses and draperies should be tossed. Floodwater from a storm is a nasty soup of microorganisms from sewage leaks, chemical spills and everyday contaminants. Properly cleaning all but the most valuable pieces would probably cost more than replacing them. Soaked particle-board furniture will fall apart, but pieces made of hardwood, metal, concrete, plastic and glass should be fine after they are thoroughly cleaned.

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