Disposing of Damaged Furniture and Carpets After a Flood

Floodwater turns carpets, sofas, mattresses and soft furnishings into waste, but the order in which you deal with them matters. Contact your insurer as soon as possible, and do not throw damaged items away until your insurers have inspected them¹. Make sure you have spoken to your insurers before removing or disposing of anything². Photograph every item before it leaves the house, because the photographs are your evidence for the claim³.

Once your insurer, broker or loss adjuster has given the go-ahead, disposal is usually a matter for your local council. Contact your local council if you need skips or extra rubbish collections⁴. Borough and district councils might provide skips and extra rubbish collections after a flood⁵. Some councils run a bulky waste collection for contaminated or flood-damaged property, and recycling centres will take flood-damaged carpets and furniture⁶.

If you cannot stay at home while items are cleared, contact your local council for help getting emergency accommodation⁴. If you own your home, you must arrange temporary accommodation yourself, such as a hotel or staying with friends or family⁸.

Wait for your insurer before you throw anything away

The single most common mistake after a flood is clearing out too fast. Insurers may need to inspect the damage, and disposing of items early can affect your claim¹⁰. The advice is consistent across official guidance: do not dispose of items until asked to do so by your insurer, broker or loss adjuster³. Do not throw away damaged possessions before the loss adjuster has seen them⁹. Do not discard any property until instructed by your insurer¹¹.

In Northern Ireland the same rule applies: contact your insurance company immediately and ask their advice before starting to clean up if your property or belongings are damaged¹². In Scotland, contact your insurer as soon as possible and take photos of any damage to your home¹³.

There are practical reasons beyond the claim. A loss adjuster may want to see the extent of the damage, the type of material affected and how high the water reached. Once a carpet is in a skip, none of that can be checked. If you are covered for loss of perishable goods, make a list of all the foods you throw away¹⁴.

Photograph and record damaged items before removal

Recording the damage is the step that protects your claim, and it takes less time than people expect. Take photographs or video footage of all damage, mark the water levels on the wall before they recede, and always ensure the insurance company has given approval before going ahead with any repair work¹⁵. Take photos of all your property and possessions that have been damaged, keep a record of people you talk to such as insurance companies and builders, and take a meter reading⁹.

The fire and rescue service gives the same advice: remove any furniture or other belongings that are too damaged to keep, but take photos of them first for your insurance claim¹⁶. Record details of damage with photographs and video, which will be useful when making an insurance claim¹⁷. Residents should take photos of the damage and keep records where possible⁹.

A simple record works well:

• Photograph each room before anything is moved, then each item close up.
• Video a slow walk through the house, narrating what is damaged.
• Photograph tide marks on walls showing how high the water reached⁹.
• Keep a written log of every call, with the date, the name of the person and what was agreed¹⁸.
• Take a meter reading⁹.

Skips and extra rubbish collections from your local council

Once your insurer has approved removal, your council is the main route for getting rid of bulky waste. Contact your local council if you need skips or extra rubbish collections⁴. Borough and district councils might provide skips and extra rubbish collections after a flood⁵. In Northern Ireland, councils can help with the collection, retention and disposal of damaged household contents, and with arrangements to clean up your home and garden¹².

What is available varies by area, so it is worth asking specifically:

For smaller items, any items discarded during the cleaning and drying process should be placed in rubbish bags and within hard bins²⁰. Soft items that cannot be cleaned should be disposed of⁷. If you are in Northern Ireland, contact Environmental Health in the local council for information about cleaning up and disposing of waste²¹.

Reporting blocked drains and gullies during the clear-up

While you are clearing out, report any drainage problems you notice, because a blocked gully can cause surface water to linger or return. You can report flooding on a highway, including blocked drains and gullies on roads, through an online reporting tool such as Fixmystreet²². You can report online an issue with blocked gullies, roadside drainage, or ponding²³. Report any gully blockages or highway flooding and log any surface water flooding incidents through your council's reporting form, and report foul sewer blockages and water main flooding to your local water company²⁴.

Responsibility is split, and it helps to know who does what:

• Highway gullies and road drains: your local council²².
• Foul sewers and water mains: your local water company²⁴.
• Private drainage, including gullies on shared access roads in Scotland: the homeowner²⁵.

In Scotland, homeowners are responsible for protecting their property from flooding, securing appropriate home insurance, preparing for potential flood events, and maintaining private drainage systems including gullies on shared access roads²⁵. Knowing how to fit flood protection products correctly could give you more time to move your possessions away from flood water²⁶.

If you cannot stay at home while items are cleared

Some homes are not habitable while damaged items are removed and the property dries out. If your home is flood damaged and you are not able to live there, contact your local council for help getting emergency accommodation⁴. Councils can also help if you are legally homeless or about to become homeless⁴.

If you own your home and need to move out due to flooding, you must arrange temporary accommodation yourself, such as a hotel or staying with friends or family, and you are responsible for repairing flood damage⁸. Check your home insurance policy for what it covers before you book anything.

If you have to leave in a hurry, take the essentials with you. Pack clothing, toothbrushes and personal items²⁷, and include things for looking after your baby²⁸. Before you go, move your valuable belongings to safety²⁸, and consider moving possessions and important documents upstairs if possible²⁹.