Floodwater touched it: what you can save

Discard these without debate

FDA and CDC: do not eat food that may have come into contact with floodwater or stormwater. Discard food and beverages not in a waterproof container — including screw caps, snap lids, pull tops, twist caps, flip tops, crimped caps, and cardboard juice, milk, or baby-formula boxes. Discard all home-canned food that contacted floodwater; it cannot be effectively cleaned and sanitized.

Discard damaged cans: swelling, leaks, punctures, fractures, extensive deep rust, or crushing that prevents stacking or opening. CDC also: discard cans or containers that spurt liquid or foam when opened, or that hold food that is discolored, moldy, or smells bad.

What you can save

Undamaged, commercially prepared food in all-metal cans or retort pouches can be saved (FDA / CDC):

1. Remove labels (note the date).
2. Wash with hot, soapy water.
3. Rinse with clean, safe water.
4. Sanitize: boil 2 minutes, or soak 15 minutes in 1 cup unscented household bleach per 5 gallons of water (FDA and CDC match this mix for cans/pouches).
5. Air dry, relabel including the date, and use soon.

Surfaces, dishes, and bleach mixes — quote both, invent neither

Wooden cutting boards, baby-bottle nipples, and pacifiers that touched floodwater: discard them. CDC: sanitizing methods are not effective for removing floodwater contaminants from those items.

For dishes, utensils, and counters, federal pages publish two bleach strengths — do not invent a third:

• FDA (dishes / counters): after washing, sanitize with 1 tablespoon unscented household (5.25%) bleach per gallon of water.
• CDC (dishes / food-contact surfaces): 1 cup unscented household chlorine bleach in 5 gallons of clean water; soak 1 minute (or wipe counters with the solution), then air dry.
• Cans / pouches (FDA and CDC): 1 cup bleach per 5 gallons, soak 15 minutes — or boil 2 minutes.

Drinking water

FDA: boil water 1 minute, cool, and store covered — or add 8 drops / 1/8 teaspoon unscented 5.25% household bleach per gallon, stir, and stand 30 minutes before use.

If the flood also killed power

Apply both rules. See after the power comes back for fridge and freezer decisions.

Sources

• FDA: Food and Water Safety During Power Outages and Floods — FDA, 2026
• CDC: Keep Food Safe After a Disaster or Emergency — CDC, 2025

Keep reading

• The Danger Zone: why 40°F and 140°F are the only two numbers that matter
• What temperature should your fridge actually be?
• Sell by, best by, use by: what the date on the package really means