Storm Water Damage Cleanup: Drywall and Floors

Storms move through Charleston fast, and the water they leave behind doesn't just dry up and disappear. It soaks into your drywall, your insulation, your subfloor, and your baseboards. If you've had water come into your house, the cleanup usually means pulling all of that wet material out before mold sets in. The fastest way to handle it is to load it straight into a dumpster as you go. Here's how that works and what size to think about.

Wet Material Is Heavier Than You Think

The biggest mistake people make after a flood is treating a gutted interior like normal household trash. It isn't. Drywall that soaked up floodwater can weigh several times what dry drywall weighs. Same goes for insulation, carpet, padding, and any furniture that sat in standing water. A wet couch is a different animal than a dry one.

That weight matters because it changes how you load a dumpster. You can fill a big can to the top with light stuff like cardboard and empty boxes and be fine. Do that with soaked drywall and flooring and you'll have a can that's too heavy to legally haul. So the rule for storm cleanup is the opposite of what feels right. Don't chase the biggest size. Load smart and watch the weight.

For a typical post-flood gut, a 13-yard loaded correctly handles a lot of house. It takes drywall, insulation, baseboard, flooring, and ruined furniture, and the smaller footprint keeps you on track about how much weight you're putting in. If you've got a bigger home or you're gutting multiple rooms, a 17-yard gives you more room, just keep the wet stuff spread out and don't pack it solid to the rim.

What Goes in the Can

A flood gut produces a specific pile of debris, and almost all of it is fine for our cans. Wet drywall, insulation, carpet and padding, baseboard, trim, laminate and hardwood flooring, cabinets, and furniture the water ruined. That's standard remodeling and household debris, and the 13, 17, and 22 all take it.

A few things we can't take, storm or no storm. No batteries, no chemicals, no electronics. If a flood knocked out appliances or soaked a power strip, set those aside and keep them out of the dumpster. Everything else from a water-damaged interior is good to go.

One note on heavy material. If your cleanup involves concrete, dirt, brick, or anything in that dense category, that only goes in the 7-yard. Most flood guts don't touch that stuff, but if a storm tore up a driveway or you're hauling out a slab, that's a separate can. You can look at our dumpster sizes to see how it all breaks down.

Move Fast on Mold

The clock starts the moment water gets in. Mold can take hold in a day or two in our Charleston humidity, and once it's in the wall cavity behind the drywall, the cleanup gets a lot bigger and a lot worse. That's why the standard move after a flood is to get the wet material out of the house quickly, open the walls up, and let things dry.

Having a dumpster sitting in the driveway is what makes that possible. Instead of stacking soggy drywall in the yard or your garage where it keeps holding moisture, you pull it and toss it in the can the same day. We try to get cans out quickly around Charleston so you can start that work without waiting around. Family Trash is family-owned, based on James Island, and we cover Charleston and the towns around it. You can check the towns we serve to see if you're in our area.

Renting for a Storm Cleanup

Rentals run anywhere from one to thirty days, so you've got time to work through the entire house at your own pace. If it's a big job and you fill the first can before you're done, we can swap it out and bring you a fresh one. Delivery, pickup, and disposal are all part of the rental, so once the debris is in the can, the rest is on us.

If you're staring at a wet, gutted house and not sure what size you need, call and tell me what you're dealing with. I answer my own phone seven days a week, and I'd rather talk through the job than have you guess. Tony at Family Trash, (843) 800-0689. We're licensed and insured, and we'll get a can to you so you can get the water damage out and your house drying.

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