Guides
Guides for wet houses in Port Charlotte
These guides answer the questions that come up in the first days after water gets into a Southwest Florida home. They cite public sources and contain no sales pitch for any company.
Start with the first-steps guide if the water is recent.
All guides
GuideFirst steps after a hurricane flood
Safety, photos, power and the order of work in the first days after outside water reaches your house.
Read the guide
GuideFlorida insurance deadlines
The one-year and 18-month notice limits, separating wind from flood, and what to keep for your claim.
Read the guide
GuideHow long drying takes
Why drying is measured in readings rather than days, and why slab, block and humidity slow it down in Florida.
Read the guide
GuideSaltwater vs freshwater damage
Why harbor and canal water changes cleanup, what salt does after it dries, and how to handle corrosion.
Read the guide
GuideWet drywall: keep or cut
How to decide whether wet wallboard can dry in place or needs a flood cut, and how high to go.
Read the guide
All guides on this site
GuideFirst steps after a hurricane flood
Safety, photos, power and the order of work in the first days after outside water reaches your house.
Read the guide
GuideFlorida insurance deadlines
The one-year and 18-month notice limits, separating wind from flood, and what to keep for your claim.
Read the guide
GuideHow long drying takes
Why drying is measured in readings rather than days, and why slab, block and humidity slow it down in Florida.
Read the guide
GuideSaltwater vs freshwater damage
Why harbor and canal water changes cleanup, what salt does after it dries, and how to handle corrosion.
Read the guide
GuideWet drywall: keep or cut
How to decide whether wet wallboard can dry in place or needs a flood cut, and how high to go.
Read the guide
A sensible reading order
Begin with what to do after a hurricane floods the house, since safety and photographs come before everything else. Move to the drywall guide when you are deciding what to tear out and the drying guide when you want to know how long equipment should run. Read about saltwater if harbor or canal water reached you. Check the insurance deadlines guide early, because the clock starts on the date of loss rather than the day you finish cleaning.
What these guides leave out on purpose
You will not find ratings, testimonials or promises here, and insurance and legal topics are general information only. Check a statute or your policy with your insurer or a qualified adviser before relying on it.
Printing a guide before storm season
Paper still works when the power and the phone network do not. Printing the first-steps guide and the insurance guide, then keeping them with your policy documents above likely flood height, takes a few minutes and spares you hunting for answers on a dying battery.
Local to this county
These guides use Charlotte County storm records.
Prefer to talk it through?
Ask an independent contractor the questions these guides raise, on one call.
