How to Salvage Flood Damaged Clothing

Floods can damage not only your home but also your clothing and other washables. Restoring some of your personal items can help you save favorite items, save you from having to replace everything and give you at least a measure of control over what has happened. It may take a little work, but you can salvage clothing that has been damaged in a flood.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Powdered detergent
• Stain remover
• Bleach

1. Assess the damage on the clothing to determine which items are too badly damaged to be saved. Mildew can be very difficult to get out so if you have clothing that has a good deal of mildew on it, you may need to get rid of it. Other clothing may be stained from items in the flood water to a degree that it's not worth cleaning them.
2. Wash items as quickly as you can. For items that have not been wet for a long period, washing and air drying can help prevent further mildew damage. Before washing, scrape or shake off as much dirt and grime as you can.
3. Use powdered detergent and cool water to pre-wash the fabrics. Avoid using hot water because it can set in stains and use small loads and lots of water. Put the detergent into the water before you add the clothes so that the detergent can dissolve first. Use a pre-wash enzyme product to help remove stains from grass, sewage or blood. Rinse and spin dry the clothing.
4. Follow the directions on the garment's label to wash the clothing and use powdered laundry detergent. Use regular bleach if possible to disinfect the clothing. If it's not recommended for the item, look for other products that you can use to sanitize and release stains.
5. Try a commercial rust removing product to help get rid of rust stains. The products are often designed for white or colorfast clothing so you'll need to test the product on other clothing before using.
6. Continue to wash the items following the procedure as many times as needed or until you decide that you can't save the item. You may need to wash several times in order to get dirt and other stains out.
7. Air dry rather than using a dryer until you are completely satisfied with the cleaning. Using the dryer before this can set in stains and you won't be able to further eliminate any stains.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear gloves while you work with the clothing in the beginning as the clothing can have bacteria and other germs on it from the flood water.