Storm season

Hurricane Debris Cleanup: What to Do First

This county took the eye in 2022 and most people here have done this before. This is the practical sequence, and the sizing mistake that costs the most.

First: safety, then documentation

Safety. Treat every downed line as live. Do not touch limbs resting on power lines. Watch for damaged structures, nails, and snakes and fire ants displaced by water. Standing water after a storm may be contaminated. Working outside all day without power in a Florida summer is a genuine heat risk — start early, take shade, drink more than you think you need. Generators go outside, well away from windows, always.

Documentation. Photograph everything before you move it. Every damaged structure, every water line on the wall, every ruined item. Multiple angles, something for scale. Adjusters are overwhelmed after a major event and may not reach you for weeks; your photographs are the record.

Do not dispose of damaged property before your adjuster has seen it or given permission, unless it is a health hazard. Wet carpet, drywall and insulation are the exception — those have to come out fast.

Wet debris is heavier than you think

This is the single most common sizing mistake on storm work, and after 2022 it is the conversation we had most often.

A whole-house muck-out that would be a comfortable 30 yard if the material were dry is often a 20 yard when it is wet — and even then we will tell you to watch the fill line. If your job is storm related, say so when you book. We size for weight, not volume.

The muck-out sequence

The standard order once water has been in a house, and it needs to start fast because mould takes hold within a day or two in this climate:

1. Photograph everything before anything moves.
2. Cut the drywall above the water line — typically a foot or two above the highest mark, and to the nearest stud or block course.
3. Pull the insulation out of the exposed cavities.
4. Lift the flooring — carpet, pad, laminate and engineered wood all have to go. Tile sometimes survives; the substrate underneath often does not.
5. Remove lower cabinetry and anything else that wicked water.
6. Get air moving and keep it moving.

Wear a respirator, not a dust mask, and gloves. Flood water is not clean water.

County drop-off sites after an event

Following a major storm the county typically opens temporary debris drop-off sites, and the terms are consistent enough to plan around. From the last activation:

• Residential only — no business or commercial use
• Proof of county residency required, photo ID with a local address, or photo ID plus a utility bill. P.O. Box addresses are not accepted
• Trailers may not exceed 12 feet
• Storm debris only — no household garbage, no bagged yard trimmings
• Sites accept construction and demolition material, e-waste and household debris

Arrangements change from event to event, so check what is actually open for your area rather than assuming. But the residential-only and proof-of-residency conditions have been consistent, and they are the reason a contractor cannot use them on your behalf.

Separating debris the right way

Storm work usually produces genuinely different streams: vegetation from the yard, building material from the house, and appliances and furniture from inside. Mixed together they are priced as the most expensive stream.

The one worth protecting is clean debris — tile, concrete and pavers from a damaged pool deck or driveway. Kept separate, that goes to the landfill at no charge. Mixed in with soaked drywall, it does not.

When you need your own container

• You are doing a muck-out or repair rather than setting storm debris at the road
• Your volume exceeds what a 12-foot trailer and a few trips will handle
• You hired a contractor — county drop-off sites are residential only, and contractors may not dump in the right of way
• You are a business, a landlord or a property manager
• You need it gone on your schedule rather than the collection schedule

Why capacity disappears

Every hauler has a finite number of containers and trucks. After a major event, demand across the whole region multiplies overnight while the disposal sites are dealing with volume of their own.

Anyone in this county who lived through 2022 knows how long that lasted. In the weeks after a significant storm, lead times stretch for everybody, and any hauler promising same-day delivery in that window is probably not being straight with you.

What we do is be honest about it. If we can get you a container on Thursday we will say Thursday. And we prioritise households with genuine habitability problems — water in the house, a roof open to the sky — over routine work. That occasionally makes someone unhappy, and we still think it is the right call.

Preparing before the season

• Trim trees before June, particularly anything overhanging the roof or the cage. Doing it out of season also means the vegetation goes out at normal rates rather than in the scramble.
• Clear the yard and the lanai of loose items that become projectiles.
• Photograph your property, inside and out, before the season. Invaluable for a claim.
• Check your policy, specifically your hurricane deductible, whether you carry flood cover separately, and what debris removal allowance you have. Many policies include one that people never claim.
• Keep your 2022 paperwork if you have not already dealt with it. Permit and claim records can matter for a sale.

If you are clearing preventatively, that is exactly the kind of job we would rather do in a quiet month than in the week after a storm.