If clothes and linens cannot be washed right away, hang them to dry as soon as possible.
Always wash clothes contaminated by flood waters separately from non-contaminated clothes.
Wear gloves while working with contaminated clothes and linens and protect work surfaces from contamination.
To wash and disinfect:
• As soon as possible, sort clothes/linens into piles of washable and dry-clean only fabrics.
• Sort washable clothes/linens into whites and colors. To avoid dye transfer, do not leave wet colored clothes and white clothes together.
• Shake off or hose off as much mud as possible from the clothes. Do not put mud-covered clothes directly into the washer. Mud can clog the drain system.
• Wash the clothes/linens in the hottest water temperature recommended for the fabric.
• To disinfect white cotton fabrics, add one cup chlorine bleach (5% NaClO) to the wash cycle.
• For fabrics that cannot be washed with chlorine bleach (spandex, wool, silk, colored clothes), add one cup pine oil disinfectant, such as Pine-Sol, or one cup phenolic disinfectant, such as Lysol, to the wash or use a commercial laundry sanitizer, such as Lysol Laundry Sanitizer, according to label instructions.
• After washing with disinfectant, check clothes/linens for any remaining stains. If stains remain, do not dry the clothes/linens. Soak stained clothes/linens overnight in a solution of oxygen-based bleach, such as OxiClean, Clorox 2, or Purex 2 Color Safe Bleach, according to label instructions. Wash as usual with regular laundry detergent.
• Dry clothes/linens in a dryer at the highest temperature recommended to help kill bacteria. White clothes can be hung outside in the sun where ultraviolet rays will help kill bacteria and whiten the clothes further.
If you do not have pine oil disinfectant, phenolic disinfectant, or other sanitizers, wash clothes twice in the hottest water temperature possible with detergent. Use plenty of water and rinse well. Do not overfill washers. A small amount of liquid bleach will help kill bacteria without substantially damaging colored clothing. Use 2 tablespoons of liquid bleach (5% NaClO) per wash load.
Let dry-clean-only clothes dry thoroughly. When dry, shake or brush the clothes to remove dirt and debris. If they haven’t faded, colors haven’t bled, and they haven’t shrunk, they can be dry-cleaned. The dry-cleaning solution will sanitize them.
Shoes
Allow to air dry. Do not dry next to an oven or heater. If they are particularly dirty, brush them off, disinfect, and use a leather cleaner or saddle soap.
References:
- Colorado State University Extension How to Recover After a Disaster
- “Cleanup: Where to begin?” Houston Chronicle, 28 June 1989
- FEMA Repairing Your Flooded Home