What You Should Do Immediately After You Find Your House Flooded

There are so many wide and varied ways that your house can flood. Maybe you went downstairs to your basement for the first time in a long time and found a leaking pipe. You might have been on vacation and come home to a flooded house. Maybe you even had to leave your home because of flooding and now you return to find water inside. Floor restoration is a complicated process, but you need to take immediate action to reduce the amount of damage you face. Here are a few things you should do immediately when your house floods.

 

Be Safe

The most important thing is to be safe when you’re dealing with a flooded home. Turn off the power to the house or the area that has been flooded. Just make sure you don’t have to get in the water to reach the power. If the electrical box is in an area of the house where there’s flooding, contact an electrician. 

Look for any damage to the structure or cracks before you enter the house. You could get hurt from pieces of ceiling or walls that fall away. 

Before you enter the house, protect yourself from health hazards. Standing water is often breeding ground for diseases. Wear waterproof clothing, boots, and rubber gloves. 

 

Take Photos and Call a Professional

You’ll need to take pictures of the damage to show your flood restoration provider. Don’t move anything around unless it’s absolutely necessary for your protection or to prevent further damage. Depending on the reason behind the flooding, your insurance carrier may pay for repairs, and your restoration team will assist with that. For right now, your focus should be on making your home safe and reducing the damage. Take pictures and save them for when you contact your provider.

 

Get the Water Out

Once you’ve contacted your insurance provider and gotten their approval, you’ll want to get the water out of your home. If there is a lot of water, you’ll need a sump pump to remove it. If the water is just in the carpeting and other materials, you can use a wet vac. 

Once the standing water is gone, you’ll want to start drying everything out as quickly as possible to prevent the growth of mold. You have a short timeframe to save your furniture and personal belongings. It takes about 48 hours for mold to start developing, so make sure to dry what you want to keep as quickly as possible. 

Once it’s safe to turn the electricity back on, you can use fans to dry out the area. This is especially helpful for walls and flooring that you cannot remove to get dry. 

 

Hire a Professional for Flood Restoration

You should find a professional company for flood damage restoration. They will work with you to remove everything, clean what can be saved, and remove what must be thrown away. Having a lot of experience, these experts know how to restore your home to its former glory in a way that you can’t DIY.

From carpet cleaning to mold removal, a flood restoration company will help make this challenging task easier and safer for you and your family. If you’ve sustained home flood damage, take care of the issue as quickly as possible to limit the amount of damage and to have a safe and dry home for you and your family once again.