Water damaged homes or buildings should begin by removing any water damaged items from the home like furniture, paintings, photographs, and etcetera and allowing them to dry out outside the home.

Squeeze as much water as possible out of couch cushions and try to leave them outside in the sun for as little time as possible, because sun damage can also occur if they are left exposed for too long.

If the floors of your home are covered in mud or silt, washing them with clean water is usually the only solution. Do not rush the drying of the floors or what is called warping or buckling.

If you can, remove any insulation from under the floor to allow air to circulate. Rapid drying of hardwood floors by using heating, air conditioning, or other forced air to help dry the floors can cause cupping. Completely drying them naturally can take weeks or months.

Any electrical components in the house, like AC outlets, should be replaced if the water level was high enough to damage them.

Again, make sure there is no electricity running to that area of your building or even to the entire building itself. When dealing with flooded properties, the possibility of electrocution is great.

Do not be so quick to remove all the water in your basement. The walls of the basement could collapse due to the ground outside that is still saturated with water and the water still standing in your basement could be the only thing stopping this.

After the water around the house has drained away, pump out two or three feet, mark the water level, and wait until the next day. If the water level in the basement rises, do not continue pumping out the water.

In most cases, washing wet mud away from objects with clean water before drying them is a good idea. Unless it is an antique item of special significance, this is generally the way to go.

If it does fall into the category of antique or historic, consult a specialist as quickly as possible.

Air circulation through the building is essential to drying it out entirely. Heaters should not be used and air conditioners should be used sparingly, if at all.

Forcing the building to dry unnaturally can possibly cause even more damage.