If you have discovered flood damage in your home, you need to take action right away. Should it be left alone, you may have to completely rebuild an entire room in your home or replace the foundation. What are some steps that need to be taken as soon as flood damage is detected?
Move as many Items out of the Water as Possible
Assuming that the water is safe to be around, you should attempt to move as many items out of the water as possible. Paramount Restoration LLC said, “Safe water is generally clear and has come from the sink, toilet without any human waste, or washing machine.” However, if you don’t know that the water is clean or where it came from, the first step is to call a professional.
Call a Professional Water Remediation Company
The next step is to call a professional water remediation company. Professionals will be able to analyze the situation and take steps to clean both the surfaces that you can see and those that you can’t. They will be able to dry the walls, dry wooden surfaces and insulation inside of the wall and preserve your foundation. Ideally, you will call for help within 24 hours.
Start the Drying Process before Professionals Arrive
As soon as you put down the phone, you may want to begin the drying process. Opening windows or using fans on wet surfaces can remove moisture and reduce the odds of permanent mold or mildew damage. You may also want to consider running the air conditioner or a humidifier to get moisture out of the air.
Find a Place to Stay while the Home is being Dried
If your entire home has been destroyed in a flood, you will need to live with a friend or family member. Emergency shelters may also be available if you don’t have family in town and you don’t have the money to stay at a hotel. Another step to take is to call your insurance company and put in a claim to have the damage paid for if you have a flood insurance policy. In the event that you don’t, it may be possible to get your insurance company to pay to remove anything that would make your house unsafe to live in.
Flood damage is nothing that you want to take lightly. Surfaces that are dried within 24 hours of first contact with water may be salvaged with little to no damage. However, surfaces may need to be replaced if they are deluged or water is allowed to linger for days at a time.
