The hum of high-pressure cleaning equipment continues to echo through the streets by the Maribyrnong River in Melbourne's west.
The huge torrent of water that filled the roads four days ago has been replaced by piles of sodden belongings on the footpaths and thick black sludge on the nature strips.
The Victorian government estimated 300,000 tonnes of waste will be sent to landfills from the floods, and said it would waive fees for its disposal.
On Monday, Monica Louey was surrounded by upturned furniture and large black rubbish bags as she used a high-pressure hose, trying to clean kitchen items belonging to her family.
Her childhood home in Maribyrnong, where her parents still live, was inundated on Friday.
"It’s been really devastating," Ms Louey said.
"This is a lot to deal with, to see all this rubbish, to see the place covered in mud. It’s been horrific."
Down the road, a thin layer of mud remains in Thuy and Yoong Tang's house, along with pieces of their sons' Lego set that have somehow made it into every room.
The pot of Vietnamese pho Ms Tang cooked on Thursday night is still on the stove.
As she surveyed the damage, Ms Tang expressed her relief the family paid an extra $80 for flood coverage with their home insurance policy.
"I feel like I'm the luckiest person," she said.
Still, it could be three months before the family can move back into their house due to the extensive repair work required.
The Tangs are among the thousands of Victorians facing weeks out of their homes because of the state's flood crisis.
Even when the initial water and silt is cleared, affected residents could face further delays due to a backlog of insurance claims, a lack of restoration cleaners and a shortage of tradespeople and building supplies.
'Blackwater' damage requires specialist cleaners
Simon Ramke, whose company Disaster Restorations Australia specialises in cleaning homes that have been flooded, expected the weeks ahead to be "pretty full-on".
Furniture inside flooded homes will need to be removed and thrown out if it had been touched by the water. The water is considered "blackwater", Mr Ramke said, meaning it could be contaminated with dangerous microbacteria and toxic debris.
"Any materials that touch that water basically need to be stripped out of the property," Mr Ramke said.
An electrician will be called in to isolate power and a bulk of the mud will need to be removed before a professional clean can begin.
Commercial dehumidifiers and air movers are also brought in to try and extract as much moisture as possible to prevent mould growing.
"The first step is to strip out all the wall linings up to a certain height, depending on how high the water came into the property," he said.
High-pressure water cleaners would be used to try and flush out any blackwater that had seeped into wall cavities.
Mr Ramke said it normally took about two weeks for a home to be restored to a state where owners could begin the process of re-fitting.
"Trying to get contractors to do that is another issue in itself," he said.
Government announces further support payments
In the small town of Rochester, where flood waters peaked on Friday night, the reality of the flood damage is just starting to sink in.
Yesterday, owners of the local news agency and supermarket were able to wade through the waters inside their businesses.
The owner, Kim, who did not want her surname published, said she was denied insurance because Rochester was prone to flooding.
Others say even if they were able to be insured, the premiums and excess were too expensive to justify it.
On Monday, Premier Daniel Andrews announced a $351 million recovery package for regional Victorians, with about half going towards an "emergency road repair blitz".
The government pledged to support people hit hardest by the floods, including those in uninsured homes.
It promised payments up to $42,250 to help pay for cleaning, repairs, rebuilding and replacing contents.
The Insurance Council of Australia is yet to put an estimate on the scale of the damage in Victoria so far, and with more rain predicted, the cost could run into the hundreds of millions.
Earlier this month, the council said the insurance damage bill from La Nina east coast storm and flooding in 2021/22 was at $5.92 billion, and more than 296,000 claims had been lodged.
