There were some questions at last night’s meeting regarding the health and safety aspects of cleaning up after a flood, particularly when your house is contaminated with raw sewage.
Birch Cliff flooding clean-up
We’ve heard many stories about people who are doing this job themselves because they either don’t have insurance, can’t pay the deductible or don’t want to make a claim because of the impact on premiums.
In light of that, we’re posting some resources here in the hope that people find them useful.
What to do after a flood
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has published a homeowner’s checklist that talks about what to discard, (more than you may think) whether or not to use bleach (no!) and other subjects that came up at last night’s meeting.
How to clean up raw sewage
Although homeowners in some areas were only flooded by stormwater, in much of Birch Cliff the stormwater and sewage are carried in a single pipe. There may be people who suffered only minor flooding who may not be aware they have sewer water in the basement.
CMHC has another free download here that specifically deals with sewer water starting on Page 6.
Cleaning up mold
If mold is your concern, here’s another document from CMHC called “Fighting Mold – The Homeowner’s Guide”.
For anyone interested in learning more about subsidies from the City of Toronto for backflow valves and sump pumps, here’s the link to information and the application.
Don’t forget your neighbours who may have lost their internet connection. I’m printing these right now and heading down the street…..
