Reposting words from a Buck Burnette post on LinkedIn. Buck’s wisdom comes from experience, and his posts on this topic are useful, practical, direct, and apolitical. If you are in Texas, you likely know someone facing flood recovery. Please share, and please follow
@buck_burnette on IG or on LinkedIn for follow-up posts
“The weeks after a flood are a blur — but what happens in that first phase can shape everything that comes after.
In 2015, after the Memorial Day flood in Wimberley, I leaned on relationships with disaster response experience — and learned the rest through trial, error, and repetition.
The instinct to clean and dry your house is a good one. But doing it right is what prevents long-term damage.
Here’s what I’d tell anyone facing flood recovery today:
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— Document everything.
Before touching anything, take photos — every room, every item.
Include pre-existing finishes: cabinets, trim, flooring, plaster, and heirlooms. Insurance depends on it.
— Get the air moving.
Mold starts in 24–48 hours. Open up windows, doors, run fans, whatever you’ve got.
— Wear protection.
Flood mud is toxic. Gloves, boots, masks — no exceptions.
We saw serious infections in 2015, even a fatality.
— Remove the mud and waterlogged materials.
Floodwater forces contaminants into walls, subfloors, cabinets, crawlspaces — not just surface-level damage.
— Pier-and-beam homes need special attention.
Crawlspaces filled with river mud stay wet for weeks and trap bacteria and odor.
— What to keep, what to demo
Regarding cabinets, windows, doors, etc., I’ll say this: if it functions properly, you can clean it, and disinfect it, then it’s at your discretion.
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After demo, grab a hazmat suit and power-wash everything that came into contact with floodwater, and push the water out of the house with squeegee’s and leaf blowers. Knock out a threshold on one of the doors so there’s no standing water.
Then use an industrial-grade disinfectant. Garden sprayers work well, and spray everywhere.
Drying is the next post.
If you’re in the thick of recovery right now, don’t rush to rebuild.
You’re not behind — you’re surviving.
Answers will come with a clearer head.”
