Water damage can come from any number of environmental impacts both natural and man-made, but when your home is flooded you need to act fast. Restoration and repair have to begin as quickly as possible or the damage could get even worse. Water can be very destructive if allowed to permeate and absorb and, in certain areas of the house, the results can be catastrophic.
So in an effort to repair your home and avoid the consequences of letting too much damage occur, here are five useful restoration and repair tips that will help you minimize the effects of a flood no matter where or how they occur.
Remember, before you fix anything; be sure to take as many photographs of the flooding and resulting damage as you can. These will come in handy when you file a claim with your insurance company, should that be necessary down the line. Floods can happen for any number of reasons, if it is caused by a faulty pipe or a broken appliance, your claim will be well supported by photographic evidence.
1. Cut the Power
The first and most important thing to keep in mind is to unplug or disconnect anything electrical that has been damaged or could be sitting in water. In some cases you may just want to cut the power supply in the home altogether in order to avoid getting electrocuted.
Always be extremely cautious around electrical devices and outlets that are in or near water and never set foot in a room where you think a live current could be in standing water.
2. Removing Water
Naturally, your first move is to get the water out as best you can. How you do that is your call but whatever you decide, be sure to flush it out quickly. The option you choose may also depend on how much water there is to remove. Using buckets to remove it is a good start for a significant amount of standing water. If it’s just a few centimeters’ worth, you may go with a wet-dry vacuum instead. Mops and towels are also a tried and true, albeit slow, approach.
Every minute you allow standing water to sit in your house you’re potentially allowing more damage to occur in your floors, carpeting, drywall, and other areas of the house. So act fast in order to mitigate the impact.
3. Airflow
Once all the water is gone, it’s time to start drying everything. If you’re not careful you’ll find that mold and mildew are starting to emerge and that is only going to make the problem much worse than it currently is at the moment.
Distributing air evenly throughout the affected areas will cut down on the development of mold and get you on the road to recovery much quicker. You don’t even need expensive gear to get the job done either, you will need as many fans as you can get your hands on to get the airflow moving and the water to evaporate. Setting up a dehumidifier can be even more useful alongside your fans.
4. Clean Thoroughly
You can’t do this part until you’re completely sure that the areas are totally dry. But once they are, you need to get started on cleaning everything that got soaked. You don’t want mold and bacteria to be allowed to flourish and disinfecting everything with strong cleaning agents will be helpful in combating the problem.
This includes everything that got flooded. The parts of the home that were underwater for any length of time, furnishings, personal belongings, basically anything you want or need to keep. Some items might not have survived and, due to the way they’re made, might need to be thrown out.
Be absolutely thorough about scrubbing down everything. Even the smallest missed detail could become a breeding ground for bacteria and mildew that could be permitted to spread and cause further damage.
5. Professional Assistance
Sometimes water damage repair and restoration is best handled by the experts. If you’ve done all you can do within your capabilities to fix the problem, it’s time to call Metropolitan Contractors to come in and finish the job.
As specialists who have seen all kinds of water damage and restored even the worst impacts to conditions where it appears nothing ever happened, we have a wide range of methods for restoring and repairing the worst that water has to offer. Give us a call anytime and we can come out to assess the damage and help you get back on the road to recovery.