What to do if your home needs hurricane clean-up

The hurricane's come and gone, but your home didn't fare so well. Here's some advice on dealing with the havoc water can wreak on a house:

Oh, that smell

First things first: Get the water and mud out with a wet-dry vacuum or broom. Then spray all surfaces with lukewarm water, starting with the floor and working up. Scrub the surfaces with hot water and a heavy-duty cleaner, then rinse using a brush moistened with a solution of two tablespoons of chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Repeat scrubbing and rinsing until the odor is gone. Disinfecting duties

Clean with a solution of one-part chlorine bleach to nine-parts water. Use rock salt (one cup per gallon of water) on plaster and painted drywall, but not on concrete floors, which the salt will damage. Rug redemption

If a carpet has been soaked with water and sewage, ditch it. For slight water damage, remove the carpet if possible, roll it up, and take it outside. Drape it over a sawhorse or chairs so it will drain, but don't let the rug dry this way - it might stretch out of shape.

If the carpet must stay in place, use a wet-dry vac to remove mud and water.

Walls and floors

After you have removed the baseboards, drill holes a few inches above the floor between the studs to drain water.

Any insulation might have to be removed, dried and replaced.

Plastered walls and washable vinyl wallpaper can be cleaned. Allow plaster to dry thoroughly before washing.

- From wire reports