Owner`s manual

Cleaning Flood-Soiled Clothing and Bedding
WHAT TO SALVAGE AND HOW TO CLEAN IT
Unfortunately, cleaning
your flood-soiled clothing
and bedding is not the
same as doing the usual
family wash. Items need to
be sanitized as you wash
them. And your washing
machine may be
flood-damaged, making
machine washing out of the
question until you can get
to a laundromat or friend's
house. Nevertheless, you
can help prevent mildew
damage to clothes and
bedding by sorting and
drying items as soon as
possible.
Even if your washing
machine was not flooded,
avoid using it until you
know that the water is safe
enough to drink and that
your sewer line works.
Before you wash clothes in
the machine, run it through
one full cycle. Be sure to
use hot water and a
disinfectant or sanitizer,
such as chlorine bleach.
CLOTHING
When cleaning flood-damaged clothing:
♦ Separate wet items as soon as possible to keep clothing colors from running
together. Sort out clothing that should be drycleaned.
♦ Take clothes and linens outdoors and shake out dried mud or dirt. Hose off
extremely muddy items to avoid clogging your drain when you wash. If
you don't have access to water, simply dry things out.
♦ If possible, soak badly soiled items overnight in cold water and detergent.
Wring out and air dry if you're unable to machine wash right away.
♦ Check the labels on clothes and linens, and wash them in detergent and
warm water if possible. Adding chlorine bleach to the wash cycle will
remove most mildew and will sanitize the clothing. Because bleach fades
some fabrics and damages others, use other sanitizers, such as pine oil
cleaners, as necessary.
♦ If an item is still stained after washing, rewash before drying. Drying may
make some stains more difficult to remove.
♦ Items to be drycleaned should be air-dried and taken to a cleaner as soon as
possible.
Furs and leathers are usually worth the cost of professional cleaning. If you want
to clean leather yourself, wash the mud off and dry the leather slowly. Keep it
away from heat or sunlight while drying.
BEDDING
Bedding should be hung out to dry as soon as possible. Once dry, brush off
excess soil and dirt. Pillows, while washable, usually should be discarded if
soaked with contaminated floodwater.
♦ Sheets and pillow cases. Put sheets and pillow cases through two complete
washing cycles. Use diluted liquid chlorine bleach to help kill germs.
Follow your usual drying procedure.
♦ Blankets. Put washable blankets (acrylic, cotton) through two complete
washing cycles. Air dry or use an automatic dryer at proper tempera-ture
settings. Put wool blankets through a drycleaning process either at a
commercial coin-operated facility or drycleaning plant. Shrinkage and the
difficulty of thorough cleaning make wool blankets troublesome to wash.
♦ Quilts and comforters. Wash or dryclean depending on fiber content of the
bedding. Usually, it is best to wash cotton quilts.
University of Wisconsin-Extension • Cooperative Extension FLOOD-SALVAGING POSSESSIONS
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