Gutted walls and bare rooms once filled with furniture are now filled with cleaning supplies and tools.

Roberto Meza is trying to clean up after six inches of rain seeped into his home in South Pharr during the March 2025 flood.

Meza said the memory of that flood still brings him to tears. Work is being done at his home to prevent mold growth.

“All this area had to be gutted, it was terrible,” Meza said. “There was a stench in here, and it was bad.”

Meza also had to throw out all of his water soaked furniture, and many belongings.

“It's just frustrating... I get emotional about it, it just sucks,” Meza said.

Channel 5 News spoke to Hunter West, an expert who specializes in restoration and cleanup efforts after a flood.

West said the first step is getting the water out of your home with tools, such as a shop vac.

“It's a regular vacuum, but if you pull the filter and the bag out of it, it will actually suck up a lot of water so if you get water in your house you can use the house and shop vac.”

West said it's also important to throw out water soaked items.

“Anything the water touches has to be removed,” West said. “Drywall, installation, cabinets, everything will have to be cut out, ripped out.”

Disinfecting a home with the proper chemicals — such as Simple Green — is essential.

“It's an antimicrobial, it will take down anything you need,” West said. “It's an all-purpose cleaner, and it smells great.”

West said one product you should avoid when cleaning up after a flood is bleach.

“If you do deal with mold, mold has a lot of ammonia in it, and if you mix bleach with mold ammonia you can create a mustard gas,” West said.

Watch the video above for the full story.