Hurricane season runs June through November in Northeast Florida, but August and September are when it gets real. If you live on Amelia Island, in Fernandina Beach, or anywhere around Jacksonville, you already know the drill for supplies and shutters. What people prepare for less is the other half: what a storm does to the inside of your home, and what you’re facing in the days after. Here’s a practical, cleaning-side checklist for both.

Before the Storm: Give Yourself a Head Start

Everything you clear out now is something you don’t have to deal with by flashlight later.

• Clear the yard and patio. Furniture, planters, grills, umbrellas, garden tools, and anything else loose comes inside or into the garage. In a serious wind event, a patio chair is a projectile.
• Empty the fridge of anything you’d hate to lose. Eat down perishables in the days before landfall, and freeze jugs of water — they keep the freezer cold longer if power goes out and give you drinking water after.
• Take out all the trash. Nothing makes a hot, powerless house worse than a kitchen bin that’s been sitting three days.
• Do the laundry. Clean, dry towels and bedding are worth a lot when the power is out — and wet laundry left in a washer for a week is a mildew problem you’ll have to solve twice.
• Clear gutters and downspouts. Water that can’t drain finds its way into soffits, walls, and eventually your ceiling.
• Move valuables and paperwork up. Off the floor, off the bottom shelf, into a sealed bin. Photograph each room with your phone while you’re at it — it’s the easiest insurance documentation you’ll ever create.

The First 24 Hours After: Safety Before Cleaning

Resist the urge to start mopping immediately. Walk the home first with your phone camera and look for the things that change the plan: standing water near outlets or appliances, sagging ceiling drywall, a smell of gas, or anything structural. Any of those, and you’re calling a professional before you touch a thing. Floodwater that came in from outside should be treated as contaminated — gloves and boots, not bare feet.

Once you know the home is safe, the priority is one thing: getting it dry. In a Florida August, mold can establish itself in 24 to 48 hours in wet materials. That clock starts the moment the water arrives, not the moment you get around to it.

The Post-Storm Cleanup Order

1. Document everything first. Photos and video of every affected room and item, before you move or throw out anything. Insurers ask.
2. Get standing water out. Wet vac, pump, mop, towels — whatever you have.
3. Move air. Open windows if the outside air is drier than inside, run fans and a dehumidifier, and get the AC running as soon as it’s safe. Air movement is what actually dries a house.
4. Pull up what holds water. Soaked rugs, carpet padding, and cardboard boxes go out. Padding almost never dries in place in this climate.
5. Clean hard surfaces. Wash down floors, walls, and any surface floodwater touched with soap and water, then disinfect. Don’t mix cleaning products, and never mix bleach with ammonia.
6. Deal with the fridge. Food that sat above 40°F for more than four hours goes. Wipe the interior, then leave the doors propped open if the power is still out — a sealed warm fridge turns into a smell you cannot get back out.
7. Watch the damp zones for two weeks. Baseboards, closet corners on exterior walls, under-sink cabinets, behind furniture. Musty smell means moisture is still in there somewhere.

The Storm That Misses You Still Leaves a Mess

Most storms don’t flood your house. What they do reliably leave behind is the aftermath nobody plans for: yard debris tracked through the door, screens and windows coated in salt spray and grit, patio furniture that came inside dirty and went back out dirtier, a week of sand and leaves ground into the entry floors, and a house that’s been shut up hot and humid for days.

That’s the point where a lot of people are simply worn out. Cleaning your own house is the last thing you want after a week of hauling branches — and it’s a reasonable moment to hand it off. Our summer cleaning guide for Northeast Florida covers the humidity habits worth keeping up all season, storm or no storm.

When You’re Ready for the Reset

Maid Cleanup connects homes throughout Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, Yulee, and the greater Jacksonville area with experienced, background-checked independent cleaning professionals. A deep clean after a storm week — floors, bathrooms, kitchen, and add-ons like interior windows and patio areas — turns a house that’s been through it back into a home. Get an instant quote and book online whenever you’re ready.

This article is general home-care guidance, not safety, structural, or insurance advice. If you have flood damage, suspected mold, or any electrical or structural concern, contact qualified professionals and your insurance carrier before starting work.

Want the whole playbook in one place? Our evergreen Florida Hurricane Home Guide covers the prep, the supplies, and the after-storm cleanup order — with a printable one-pager for the fridge door.