If your home has just flooded, you're probably feeling overwhelmed. The damage, the disruption, the uncertainty about what happens next. It's one of the most stressful things a homeowner can face.

This guide is for people in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire who've experienced flooding and want to know what to do now. We'll cover the immediate steps, dealing with insurance, the clean-up process, and most importantly, how to protect your home from flooding again.

The First 24 Hours

Safety comes first. Flood water isn't just water. It can contain sewage, chemicals, fuel, and debris. It can also hide hazards like displaced manhole covers, damaged flooring, and electrical risks.

Before re-entering your property:

Wait until flood water has receded and any official advice says it's safe to return. If you evacuated, don't rush back just because the water outside has gone down.

When you first go back in:

Check for structural damage before entering. Look for cracks in walls, sagging ceilings, or anything that suggests the building isn't stable. If you're unsure, stay out and get professional advice.

Don't turn on the electricity until it's been checked by a qualified electrician. Flood water and electrics are a dangerous combination, even if everything looks dry on the surface.

Turn off the gas at the meter if you haven't already. Don't use gas appliances until they've been inspected and certified safe.

Open windows and doors to start ventilation, but only if it's safe to do so. Fresh air helps with drying and reduces the smell, but security matters too.

Documenting the damage:

Before you move or clean anything, take photographs and videos of everything. Every room, every damaged item, every water mark on the walls. This evidence is essential for your insurance claim.

Make a written list of damaged items as you go. Include descriptions, approximate ages, and estimated values where you can. The more detail you can provide, the smoother your claim process will be.

Contacting Your Insurance Company

Get in touch with your insurer as soon as possible. Most have dedicated flood claim lines that operate around the clock during major flood events.

What to have ready:

Your policy number
Date and approximate time flooding started
Depth of water in your property
List of damaged rooms and items
Photos and videos of damage

What happens next:

Your insurer will usually appoint a loss adjuster to assess the damage and agree on the scope of repairs. This might take a few days during widespread flooding when adjusters are in high demand.

Don't throw away damaged items until the loss adjuster has seen them or given you permission. Keep damaged soft furnishings, carpets, and other items where they can be inspected. If you must move them for safety or hygiene reasons, photograph them first.

Build Back Better:

Ask your insurer whether your policy includes Flood Re's Build Back Better scheme. If it does, you may be able to have flood resilience measures installed as part of your repairs, worth up to £10,000 on top of your normal claim. This could include flood barriers for doors, automatic airbrick covers, non-return valves, and flood-resistant flooring.

Not all policies include Build Back Better, and each insurer sets their own terms. But it's worth asking, because this is exactly the right time to install flood protection, while repairs are being done anyway.

The Clean-Up Process

Cleaning up after a flood is hard, unpleasant work. It's also important to do it properly to prevent long-term problems like damp and mould.

Removing contaminated materials:

Flood water, especially if it contained sewage, contaminates porous materials that can't be properly cleaned. This typically includes:

Carpets and underlay
Upholstered furniture
Mattresses and bedding
Plasterboard (the lower sections at minimum)
Chipboard flooring
Some types of insulation

These items usually need to be removed and disposed of rather than cleaned. Your insurer will advise on what they'll cover.

Cleaning hard surfaces:

Walls, floors, and solid furniture that survived the flooding need thorough cleaning with appropriate disinfectants. Wear protective gloves, boots, and a face mask. This isn't a job for regular household cleaners.

Work from the top down in each room. Clean ceilings first, then walls, then floors. This way you're not re-contaminating surfaces you've already cleaned.

Drying out:

Proper drying is essential. Rushing this stage leads to damp problems, mould growth, and damage to new decorations.

The general rule is that a property needs about a month of drying time for every day it was flooded. A house flooded for three days might need three months to dry properly. That sounds like a long time, but cutting corners causes bigger problems later.

Professional drying equipment, including industrial dehumidifiers and air movers, speeds up the process significantly. Your insurer may provide these or cover the hire cost.

Traditional lime plaster dries faster than modern gypsum plaster and copes better with moisture. If you're replastering flood-damaged walls, consider using lime as a resilience measure for future floods.

Testing before redecorating:

Before any redecoration starts, have moisture levels properly tested. This isn't something you can judge by touch or appearance. A damp meter gives an objective reading.

If decoration goes on before the building is properly dry, you'll end up with peeling paint, bubbling wallpaper, and potential mould growth. Better to wait than to redo everything six months later.

Dealing With the Emotional Impact

Flooding isn't just about physical damage. It's emotionally exhausting. The loss of possessions with sentimental value, the disruption to normal life, the anxiety about it happening again. These are all completely normal responses.

What helps:

Talk to people. Family, friends, neighbours who've been through the same thing. Sharing experiences with others who understand makes a real difference.

Accept help when it's offered. People want to help but often don't know how. Give them specific tasks if you can.

Take breaks. The clean-up can feel never-ending, but you need to look after yourself too. Step away, even just for a cup of tea somewhere that isn't flood-damaged.

If you're struggling:

The emotional impact of flooding can trigger anxiety, depression, and symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress. This isn't weakness. It's a normal response to an abnormal situation.

Your GP can help, whether that's someone to talk to, practical support, or just a professional acknowledgment that what you're feeling is real and valid.

The National Flood Forum (nationalfloodforum.org.uk) runs a helpline staffed by people who've experienced flooding themselves. Sometimes talking to someone who truly understands makes all the difference.

Protecting Your Home From Future Flooding

Once you've been flooded, the thought of it happening again is terrifying. But this is actually the best time to take action. You understand the risk in a way you didn't before, you may have funding available through grants or insurance, and any necessary repairs provide an opportunity to build in protection.

Understanding how water got in:

Before you can protect your home, you need to understand how the flood water entered. Common entry points include:

Doors: The gaps at the bottom of standard doors let water in easily
Airbricks: These ventilation points are essentially holes in your walls
Drains: When sewers become overwhelmed, water and sewage can flow backwards into your home through toilets, sinks, and floor drains
Walls: Over time, mortar between bricks deteriorates and becomes permeable
Utility entries: Gaps around pipes and cables where they enter the building
Floors: In some properties, water can rise up through the floor from below

A professional flood survey identifies all the vulnerabilities specific to your property and recommends appropriate protection measures.

Flood barriers and doors:

The most common flood defence measure for homes is a barrier system for doorways. Demountable barriers slot into permanently fixed channels at the sides of your door frame. When flood warnings are issued, you deploy the barrier in minutes, creating a watertight seal.

The Nautilus range of flood barriers, which we supply and install at GDCG, uses aluminium panels with EPDM rubber seals. Panels come in 200mm and 400mm heights, combining to create barriers up to 1.2 metres high. The system is certified to BSI Standard PAS1188 for demountable flood defence barriers.

For some properties, a flood door makes more sense. These replacement doors look like normal doors but have integral flood resistance. They seal automatically when water pressure builds against them, which is useful for households where deploying a barrier quickly might be difficult.

Airbrick protection:

Standard airbricks are a weak point in any flood defence scheme. You can fit removable covers that you put in place when flooding threatens, or automatic airbricks that seal themselves when water reaches them. The automatic versions are more expensive but work even if you're not home.

Non-return valves:

If sewage came up through your drains during the flood, non-return valves are essential. These one-way valves allow water to flow out of your property normally but block any reverse flow. They're fitted into your drainage system and work automatically.

Sump pumps:

Even with good perimeter defences, some water may seep through floors or walls during prolonged flooding. A sump pump sits in a small pit at the lowest point of your property and automatically pumps out any water that collects.

Accessing Funding for Flood Defences

You may be eligible for funding to help pay for flood protection measures.

Council grants:

Following major flood events, councils often receive government funding to distribute to affected properties. These grants typically offer up to £5,000 per property for flood resilience measures.

If your property flooded recently, contact your county council's flood team to ask what schemes are currently open:

Lincolnshire: PropertyFloodResilience@lincolnshire.gov.uk
Nottinghamshire: nottinghamshire.gov.uk/planning-and-environment/flooding-help-and-advice
Leicestershire: floodgrant@leics.gov.uk

Grant schemes have deadlines, so don't wait too long before checking.

Build Back Better through insurance:

If your insurer participates in Flood Re's Build Back Better scheme, you may be able to have flood resilience measures installed as part of your repair claim, worth up to £10,000. This is the easiest way to get flood protection because it's integrated into work that's already happening.

Ask your insurer specifically about Build Back Better. If your current policy doesn't include it, consider switching to one that does before any future flood.

Choosing an Installer

If you're having flood defences installed, whether through a grant, insurance, or your own funds, choosing the right installer matters as much as choosing the right products.

Flood barriers are only as good as their installation. Gaps in seals, poorly secured fixing channels, or incorrect sizing will let water in exactly when you need protection most.

Look for an installer with:

Experience with the specific products being fitted
Local presence for ongoing support and maintenance
References from previous customers you can check

At GDCG, we've been working across Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire for years. We're not specialists who appeared overnight when flooding made the news. We're a local business that does more than just flood defences, and we'll be here when you need us.

When you've been flooded once, you know how it feels to lie awake listening to heavy rain. Having a local installer you can call, who knows your property and your barriers, makes a real difference to peace of mind.

Taking the Next Step

If you've recently been flooded and want to understand how to protect your home, get in touch with us. We can talk through your situation, explain your options, and if appropriate, arrange a survey to identify exactly where your property is vulnerable.

You can also check your flood risk and see historical flood data for your area using our free flood risk assessment tool.

Recovering from a flood takes time. But taking steps to prevent the next one gives you something back: control. You can't stop rivers from rising or rain from falling, but you can make sure your home is ready.

GDCG supplies and installs flood barriers and flood defence systems across Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire. We understand what you're going through and we're here to help protect your home for the future. Contact us to discuss your situation.