One of the most disastrous things you can ever encounter is not having your water damage repaired after extreme water damage or flooding in your home. Broken pipes, leaking appliances, more severe problems like flooded basements, sewer backups, or even water damage following a fire can all lead to significant issues.
After a flood, water damage cleanup requires time, effort, and patience. With this in mind, it’s important to think about your water damage restoration and clean up checklist. Today, we’re discussing a complete guide to help you organize for possible flooding and water damage in and around your property.
Evaluate the safety
Since the safety of you and your family is crucial, the first thing you should do is make sure that everyone is out of harm’s way. If standing water has flooded nearby appliances or the water level has risen above outlets, electricity may be running through them. This is a hazardous situation.
In this situation, stay away from the water, evacuate the building, and make a professional emergency call. If you can enter your residence electric panel safely, turn off the power to your house to stop the flow of electricity.
Contact your insurance company
After evaluating your safety, you must now contact your insurance company. Depending on the cause of the water damage and your coverage plan, your insurance may cover all or part of the cost of the flood damage restoration. They will come and evaluate the repair they can cover.
Document the values of every item you can think of and start taking as many pictures as possible before, during, and after cleanup. This will assist the adjuster when they can come to inspect the damage.
Get rid of excess water
It is crucial to remove water quickly. The more time water sits, the more harm it can cause. You should call a water damage restoration service professional if there is a lot of water in your basement or the area around your home since they have the tools needed to get rid of it quickly and efficiently. If you wish to do it yourself, you can start draining the water using a bucket or your pump.
Identifying mold
Mold can develop after the first 24 hours of a flood, and once it has begun growing, it can be challenging to remove. The faster you remove items from water and start drying them, the less likely they will be lost to mold. Always take caution and have a specialist evaluate the circumstance.
Remove and replace wet and damaged materials
Get your wet belongings out of the residence and into a well-ventilated area, ideally outside if the weather permits. The most vulnerable materials are pores, such as leather, wood, fabric, and other porous materials. As soon as you can, move these items out of the way so they can begin to dry.
Flooring and often walls need to be replaced; broken items are often in need of repair, etc. If massive construction is required, make sure you start hiring an expert!
Final thoughts
As you can see, flood damage restoration involves more than just cleaning and repairing the places where water has been present. You must consider how water may affect your property, the potential for mold growth, and the contents within.
Contact expert help if you cannot conduct the water damage restoration process yourself. After you have the go-ahead signal from your insurance provider, your restoration/construction firm, and your local government (during natural calamities), it’s time to move back into your dry, clean, and mold-free home!
