Water Damage Team Blog

The devastation caused by floods over time is hard to take in, but also necessary. Luckily we have learned from these disasters and are better prepared for storms today because of it. To fully understand the effect floods have on civilizations please enjoy the following list of the top 10 most devastating floods in history.

1. Huang He (Yellow) River, China 1931
Death Toll: 1,000,000 to 3,700,000
The Huang He river is prone to flooding due to the surrounding low plains. A high silt content in the river (which also gives the river its name, “yellow”) causes the river to gain volume, helping it to rise above the plains. Death tolls are often high because there are so many people in the surrounding area and no real way to escape.

2. Huang He (Yellow) River, China 1887
Death Toll: 900,000 to 2,000,000
For years, farmers living along the yellow river were building dikes to protect their land from the rising waters. During a bad 2 day storm, the waters rose too rapidly for them to contain, and their dikes were overpowered and lands flooded. At the time, it was one of the worst natural disasters ever recorded, and still is among the worst.

3. Huang He (Yellow) River, China 1938
Death Toll: 500,000 - 900,000
In 1938, Nationalist Chinese troops actually broke the levees themselves hoping to turn back advancing Japanese troops. Although it did work to some extent, the death toll was very high.

4. Huang He (Yellow) River, China 1642
Death Toll: 300,000
Chinese rebels along the city of Kaifeng and destroyed the dikes. The area lost roughly half of its residents, making it the 2nd largest loss of human life at the time. The city was abandoned after the flood until 1662.

5. Ru River, Banqiao Dam, China 1975
Death Toll: 230,000
Heavy rain caused by a typhoon caused the collapse of the Banquia Dam along with several others. The water accumulated was more than a years worth of normal rainfall.

6. Yangtze River, China 1931
Death Toll: 145,000
The Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia, and the third longest in the world. Unfortunately, it has such a tendency to flood they’ve had over 1,000 floods. The river is so large it receives water from both Northern and Southern flanks, contributing largely to its flooding.

7. The Netherlands and England 1099
Death Toll: 100,000
100,000 were killed when high tides and storms flooded the Thames and the Netherlands.

8. The Netherlands 1287
Death Toll: 50,000
The polder was flooded due to the failure of a seawall on the Zuider Zee, a complicated dam system protecting the surrounding areas.

9. The Neva River, Russia 1824
Death Toll: 10,000
Before the flood, there had been a very cold winter. Ice backed up the river for days, and water backed up behind the ice. When the natural ice dam broke, water flooded everywhere uniting canals and streets alike.

10. The Netherlands 1421
Death Toll: 10,000
Although the Zuider Zee had prevented many floods in the past, it would fail to stop some of the stronger storms. In 1421 another failure of a seawall on the Zuider Zee caused the flood.

As few of us clean our carpets ourselves, it’s hard to know fact from myth when it comes to carpet cleaning. To help you out, we’ve put together the following list of 9 carpet cleaning myths and debunked them.

1. Myth: You should wait to have your carpet cleaned the first time, because it will never look the same again.
Fact: Waiting for your carpet to be cleaned will do nothing but create possible health hazards and make the job harder for your carpet cleaner. As long as you’ve hired a trained professional, your carpet should look better every time you clean it.

2. Myth: Carpet cleaning may shrink my carpet.
Fact: Your carpet will not shrink unless the hired cleaner leaves the carpet extremely wet. A professional cleaner will not allow this to happen, but play it safe and check for wetness before they leave your home.

3. Myth: You should not vacuum your carpet very often or it will deteriorate.
Fact: Studies have shown vacuuming your carpet 4 times a week does no more damage to your carpet than vacuuming it twice a month. In fact, the build-up of dirt and residue in carpet fibers can be harmful to your health, so vacuum frequently.

4. Myth: I only have to clean my carpet if it has been stained.
Fact: The dirt and residue that can build up in your carpet over time is not always noticeable on the surface. It is smart to have your carpet cleaned at least once a year by a professional, especially if you have small children in the house.

5. Myth: I don’t have to clean my carpet because it has built-in stain resistance.

Fact: Although carpets with stain resistance will help with accidental spills, dirt still gets under the fibers. Treat your carpet the same as any other.

6. Myth: Cleaning your carpet often is bad for it.
Fact: You can never clean your carpet too much. In fact, the more often you clean your carpet, the longer it will retain its original appearance. Carpets aren’t cheap to buy; cleaning simply protects your investment.

7. Myth: Carpet cleaning can destroy my stain resistance.
Fact: Although stain resistance is by no means permanent, foot traffic actually loosens it up more than anything. Have a carpet cleaning specialist re-apply stain resistance every 3rd cleaning.

8. Myth: Cheaper cleaners do just as good a job, only for less.
Fact: Don’t hire a cleaner simply because their price is the cheapest. A bad carpet-cleaning job can leave your carpet worse off than it was to begin with.

9. Myth: I have my own carpet-cleaning machine, so I don’t need to hire a professional.
Fact: Although having your own machine is useful for small stains and routine cleaning, most home machines don’t have the suction power professional machines do. Because of this, the stain gets loosened up, but the residue is not completely removed from the carpet itself. It’s best to still have your carpet cleaned by a professional on occasion.

1. Make sure your gutters aren’t clogged, and remember to clean regularly.

2. Check around house to make sure no small garden fences or barriers can hold water against the house in heavy rain.

3. If you have downspout extension pipes, make sure they point away from the house.

4. Keep your interior drains clear at all times.

5. Make sure soil around the home has plenty of exposure to sunlight, so water can’t build up in the shade.

6. Fill any cracks in the basement walls or windows.

7. Get a sump pump if you don’t already have one. If you do have one, make sure it’s working properly or it won’t do you any good (simply pour a couple gallons of water in to see).

8. Check window wells occasionally for leaves and debris, which could be clogging the drain tiles.

9. Make sure you have a slope of 2% or more going away from the house

10. Keep all items in basement at least one foot off the floor for extra insurance. Furthermore, don’t keep irreplaceable photos, memorabilia, or important documents in the basement at all, as some things can’t be replaced easily or at all.

11. If your basement does flood, call a water removal specialist immediately. Still water can seep into the walls and cause more costly damage if not taken care of.

Follow these tips if you find yourself with a stain in your carpet. However, remember that sometimes it is best to just leave the stain alone and call a professional.

1. Blot First
Always blot stains first with a paper towel (for wax stains this step should be skipped).

2. Work your Way in
When blotting a stain, work your way from the outside in.

3. Let it Sit
When working on a tougher stain, let the cleaning solution you choose to use to sit a few minutes.

4. Use Cold Water
When you’re unsure about a stain, it’s best to use cold water to take it out. Using hot water cold cause the stain to spread if not treated properly.

5. General Stain Remover
Ivory bar soap makes a great general stain remover. Just get the spot damp, rub on some soap and scrub well with a small scrubbing brush (or toothbrush). Then, rinse well.

6. Shaving Cream
Shaving cream is an efficient stain remover, especially foamy men’s shaving cream. Just rub into stain and let sit a few minutes.

7. Ammonia and Water
Good for blood stains. Mix 1 tbsp. of clear ammonia with ½ cup of water (after blotting stain with paper towel). Do a second scrub with bar soap or dish detergent, and then rinse well with water.

8. Hair Spray
If you have a nail polish or paint stain on your carpet, try hair spray! Spray stain with spray and dab with a paper towel.

9. Spilt your Coffee?
To remove a bad coffee or tea stain, get some soda water and pour over stain. Then blot with towel. Repeat process until the stain is gone.

10. Wax
Wax stains should be treated differently than other stains. The first step is to remove as much dry wax as possible. Then, get a warm iron (warm, not hot) and a paper bag. Put paper bag over wax and iron over stain, moving the bag to a clean spot as you go.

11. Rinse Well
When you are done treating your stain, it is important to thoroughly remove the solution you were using from your carpet. So always rinse well!