Removing river silt, drying soaked walls and floors, and cleaning contaminated materials after St. Johns River water.
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St. Johns River flood cleanup is the work that follows river water entering a home or business: removing the silt and standing water, cleaning contaminated surfaces, and drying the structure to measured readings. The river reached record levels at one bridge during Hurricane Matthew, so flood cleanup here is planned for long-wet materials. Phones are answered 24/7.
The St. Johns River shapes this city's flooding more than any single storm does. It runs through the middle of Jacksonville, widens toward the Atlantic and takes in tidal water from the Intracoastal, so a river flood can rise from the bottom up and from the outside in at the same time. A house beside the water may see the river, and a house a few streets back may see only the drainage that the river is holding back.
During Matthew in October 2016, a regional news report summarising a later federal survey described the river as reaching its highest level on record at Shands Bridge, and flowing backwards early on October 8. That figure belongs to one location. What it means for a particular home is found by looking at the wall, the floor and the cavity behind them, which is what this cleanup starts with.
River silt is fine, sticky and heavy with what the water has carried from upstream and from the streets. It settles into carpet, gets pushed into the gaps under cabinets and dries to a crust that lifts paint off the lower wall. Cleanup takes out what the silt has ruined, washes and disinfects what can be kept, and dries the structure so that nothing mold-ready is left behind.
Yes. River silt carries sediment, decaying plant matter and whatever the water has picked up from the streets, so it is handled as contaminated water. Storm water from a roof leak or a drain may be cleaner, but both are sorted at arrival and the protective gear and cleaning follow the result.
Silt is not only dirt. It holds moisture, traps fine particles in every porous surface and sticks to the bottom of walls, where it stays damp and grows mold if left. A surface wipe moves it around without taking it out, so the cleanup removes the silt physically first, then cleans what remains.
Some river water also carries fuel and oil from marinas, roads and yards. A sheen on the surface or a strong fuel smell is a reason to tell the crew before it starts, because it changes what can be kept and how the room is ventilated while the work runs.
Long enough to matter. Floors, wall bottoms and cavities hold moisture for days after the surface looks dry, and river flooding often leaves the ground saturated for longer, which feeds water back toward the foundation. The drying plan is written around readings, not around the day the water left.
Matthew showed that the river can stay high for days. The City's storm updates warned of standing water that could last that long in some places, and a home that is still wet after several days needs its readings taken again rather than assumed dry.
The crew checks the cavity behind the lowest wall, the subfloor under the finished floor and the sill plate where the framing meets the foundation. A house can look finished on the surface and still hold water in those places, so every check is logged.
Carpet, pad, loose insulation, particleboard, paper and fabric that the water has soaked usually come out, along with drywall and plaster that the readings show will not dry to a usable standard. Hard surfaces, solid wood and framing are kept where they can be dried and cleaned.
Carpet and pad are the most common removal, because silt sits in the fibers and the pad holds water like a sponge. Particleboard cabinet bases and cheap shelving swell and lose their strength once soaked, and they are usually replaced after the drying has finished.
Solid wood framing, masonry and concrete are rarely removed, but they are cleaned and dried in place. Plaster over lath is opened where the readings stay high, and the rest is dried, since a full plaster removal on a river flood is the most expensive mistake a homeowner can make by accident.
The depth and length of the flood, how much silt entered the structure, how many floors and rooms it reached, and the materials it touched decide the scope. The price is explained and approved on site before the work begins, and changes are explained before they are made.
Silt depth on the floor is a quick guide to how much cleaning will be needed. A thin film cleans up in a few passes, while a deep layer means extraction, removal of the contaminated material and a second round of cleaning before drying can start.
Access also changes the work. A house with a raised foundation, a tight crawl space or a second-floor unit takes longer to clean because the equipment and the materials have to move through narrow openings. None of these factors is turned into a figure on this site; the crew sees the building and explains the scope first.
Keep photographs, the list of damaged items and any receipts. Do not throw away wet items before the crew and your insurer have seen them, and do not wash contaminated fabrics or carpets at home, since that spreads the silt and the contamination.
Photographs taken before cleaning are the most useful record you can have. They should show the silt line, the depth of the water against a known object, each room and the items that were wet. A short video walk-through of the house works well alongside the photographs.
Items that will be thrown out should be photographed and listed first, then set aside outside the house if the crew allows it. Silt-covered furniture that has been stored in a damp garage can grow mold within days, so it should be moved out of the living area quickly.
Do not wade into flood water or touch silt with bare hands, since river water can carry bacteria and fuel residue. Do not run a household vacuum over wet silt, because it can push fine particles into the motor and the air. Keep electrical equipment off until the crew has checked the panel and outlets, and do not run a generator indoors or near an open door.
Tell the line how high the river water came, how long it stood, whether the water was clear, muddy or smelled of fuel, and whether it came from the river, a storm drain or the ground. Those answers shape the protective gear and the cleaning steps the crew brings.
The free water is pumped out first and the loose silt is scraped or vacuumed from hard floors. Soaked carpet, pad and loose contents that the silt has reached are removed, because cleaning them does not bring them back to a usable state.
Hard surfaces, sealed cabinets and some furniture are washed and disinfected with products suited to contaminated water. Surfaces that have been cleaned are checked again, and anything still holding silt is removed rather than repainted over.
The lower wall is opened where the silt line and the readings show wetting. The cavity is dried with air movers and dehumidifiers until it reaches the dry goal, and the framing is checked for swelling or rot before anything is closed up.
Each stage is logged with photographs and readings, and the silt line is marked and recorded. The log is available to you for an insurer or a contractor, and the reconstruction is quoted separately once the structure tests dry.
Solid wood floors and plaster walls in the older neighborhoods near the river take silt into the seams and the lower walls. The cleanup lifts the flooring where needed, cleans the subfloor and dries it from underneath, since a surface pass leaves the boards cupped as they dry.
Homes set close to the St. Johns in the southeast of the city can see river water come up through the yard and into the crawl space or the garage. Those jobs begin outside the structure, where the ground is saturated, and they move in as the drying reaches the living area.
Commercial spaces that flooded from the river lose stock and shelving as well as flooring. The cleanup is scheduled around the owner's reopening, with the most important rooms dried first and the rest sequenced after.
A river flood in a building with shops below and apartments above spreads its damage in two directions. The cleaning and drying are run unit by unit, so each tenant's space has its own log, and the shared stairwell and wall cavities are treated as common ground.
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
The St. Johns River is the spine of this city and a constant factor in its water damage. Houses along the river in the southeast, in Mandarin, and in other low ground beside the water see river water come up through yards and crawl spaces, not only through the front door. A cleanup in those homes starts by reading the ground outside.
Riverside and Avondale are historic neighborhoods close to the city core, with older houses whose plaster, lath and wood floors respond to silt differently from modern drywall. Their cleanup is planned around careful removal and slow drying, so that the original finishes are kept wherever the readings allow.
Downtown and the riverside ZIP areas hold a mix of older masonry buildings and ground-floor businesses. A flood that reaches the street level of those buildings usually reaches the basement, the lift shafts and the utility rooms as well, and those spaces are checked as part of the same job.
Pumping out and drying a building after storm surge or river water has come in, answered around the clock.
Careful drying of plaster walls, lath and wood floors in older houses, planned to keep original finishes where readings allow.
Extraction and drying after water from flooded streets and yards runs into garages and ground-floor rooms.
Removal of standing water and drying of the joists, subfloor and insulation in a crawl space after rain or river flooding.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
After St.
Recovery after storm surge or river flooding follows a set order: make the building safe, remove the standing water, clean and disinfect, measure and dry the structure, then repair.
Cleaning can start once the building is safe to enter and the water has stopped rising into it. The crew checks the ground and the building first, because water that is still seeping in will refill any area that has been cleaned. Timing is set by conditions on site rather than by a promised day.
Often, on hard surfaces. Tile, sealed concrete, glass and solid wood can be washed and disinfected. Porous materials that have soaked up silt, such as carpet, pad, unsealed plaster and particleboard, usually cannot be cleaned to a standard that makes them safe to keep.
Tell your insurer as soon as you can and keep what you have. The crew's photographs, readings and logs are shared with you for that purpose. This site does not state what a policy covers, because that is decided by the policy and the insurer, and the first step is to ask them what they need.
It depends on the extent of the damage and the work. Some households stay in the rest of the house while a single room is opened and dried, and others move out while the ground floor is stripped. The crew explains what the work will involve on each floor so you can decide with the facts in front of you.
Because the surface of a wall or floor can look dry while the material behind it is still wet. Readings show whether the moisture is still there and how far it reaches. A room is released only when its readings meet the dry goal, not when it looks finished.
Reconstruction is quoted separately and carried out by the contractor you choose, once the materials have been confirmed dry. Plumbing, electrical and structural repairs go to licensed trades, and the crew names the type of specialist you will need before the drying begins.