After you've given your home's major systems the once over for damage from flood or rain-driven storm don't forget to inspect or have inspected your home's smaller components.

Any problems left unresolved will only worsen with time.

Here's what to inspect and how to handle any problems you find.

Soaked hardwood floors, carpets, rugs and other flooring

Depending upon the length of time its been soaked, a hardwood floor and its connecting components may become warped and rusted creating squeaky floors. More damage could warrant refinishing and replacing part or all of the floor boards.

Turn nylon or other synthetic carpeting upside down to expose the backing to circulation. Place outside in the sunlight, or spread out in a warm room on an improvised drying frame of old chairs or sawhorses. Wool or cotton carpets are vulnerable to mildew. They should be dried more quickly, using clotheslines, large dryers or professional cleaners. Pull up the carpet pad to ventilate the floor. Rubber and foam pads can be dried out and saved. Jute and horsehair are difficult to dry.

Electrical outlets, gas valves

Flood waters come with debris, including silt that clogs and ruins gas valves and renders electrical outlets inoperable and dangerous. Any electrical outlet clogged with even a bit of silt or other object will short circuit.

Do not turn on electrical equipment until you've had a professional evaluation. Be careful in moving any electronic equipment to avoid further damage. Switch off all equipment and disconnect backup batteries. If possible, disconnect fuses.

Replace any gas valve recovered from flood waters. Disassemble and clean or replace all electrical outlets that have been submerged.

Soaked wall materials

A week or two of drying out and a fresh coat of paint may be all that is necessary. If so begin with a fresh undercoat of primer before painting. Otherwise, stains from water and rusted nails will bleed through the final coat.

It's likely water damaged sheet rock will have to be removed and replaced, particularly if water has been trapped in wall cavities.

Doors that stick

Shifting foundations can cause doors to stick. If you shave the edge of the door when the soil is wet, you may have an airspace when the soil dries and the foundation shifts again.

Instead, install weather stripping or an adjustable threshold under the door that will adjust to the movement of the door.

Windows that leak

Caulk leaks around window frame. Butyl and silicone caulks are recommended for longer wear. Be sure that the surfaces are dry and clean. If necessary, build an eave or overhang above the window so it is not exposed to a direct downpour in the future.

You can also install metal flashing above the window trim to help divert the rain. Use galvanized nails every inch or so, and apply caulking between flashing and wall.

Soggy insulation

Replace soaked insulation. Cellulose that has been treated with fire- proofing and vermin-proofing solutions can become acidic and corrode electrical wiring, nails, and other metal devices. Fiberglass becomes matted and ineffective.

Published: April 3, 2008

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Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.