One of the devastating things you can ever experience in your house is water damage. The sight of water puddles damaging everything around you can be a harrowing experience. Many different factors can cause water damage: leaking Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) pipes, dripping water from the tap or water storage tank, leaking pipes in the wall, flash food, heavy rains, or a major fault in the plumbing system. The reasons can vary, but the hassle of dealing with water damage remains the same.
How to Contain Water Damage?
Once you have water clogged inside your house, you are only left thinking about what to do next. Protegrity Restoration explains the biggest problem after water damage is that you don’t have much time to ponder over the situation. Mold can start to grow within twenty-four hours of a flood in the house. Similarly, laminate and other floors take only a few days before they meet their final destruction leading the water into the foundations. Therefore, prompting water damage recovery in the house is the only way to deal with it successfully. But, in reality, sometimes, people delay the water damage cleanup process just in their confusion and indecisiveness.
On the contrary, they should follow the cardinal rule of handling emergencies (quick action) after water damage to salvage many of their precious belongings in the house. There is no doubt that some areas with heavy rainfall and seasonal flooding are more prone to water damage, but regardless, everyone gets their fair share of it. If you want to prepare yourself for any impending water damage cleanup in the future, here are things you should do to take care of it.
Look for the Source of Water Damage
To avoid further damage due to water in the house, you have to locate the source of water damage. Look around the house for leaking pipes, dysfunctional dishwashers or washing machines, a dripping faucet, or clogged drains in the washroom. Sometimes, you cannot find the issue quickly, especially when hidden behind the walls or somewhere in your plumbing system. For that, you need an expert plumber.
However, even if you cannot find the issue, you can shut off the main water supply to avoid water flow towards the damaged areas. Moreover, turn on the faucets to remove all the standing water in the pipes. Simultaneously, you can also call a plumbing expert to look at the problem and fix it.
Contact Your Insurance Company
Water damage recovery can be very costly. In many cases, people report spending thousands of dollars on renovations and cleanups related to water damage. Your only solution is to call your house insurance company and see if they cover the cost of the water damage disaster in your house. Inspect the water damage and document everything coupled with their photos before, during, and after the cleanup.
The insurance company will send their representative to look at the damage at your place and see if it is covered under your policy. Not all insurance companies or policies accommodate water damage but call them as soon as possible if yours do. The longer you delay, the more your insurance company resists covering the cost because your delay and negligence can exacerbate the extent of water damage in your house.
Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones
Water damage can be very dangerous for your health, especially when it is caused due to black water that contains many contaminants and bacteria. But in other cases, too, make sure to avoid going into the puddles of water and let the professionals carry out their work. Other safety precautions include shutting off the main electricity supply; there is often a risk of electrocution where water and electricity are involved.
It’s important to unplug all the electronic devices and avoid using any electrical appliances for some time. If there has been a flood warning in your area, vacate your house and don’t return until the authorities make an official announcement. Once you are in the affected area, wear rubber boots, gloves, and other protective equipment.
Sop Up the Water from the House
Standing puddles of water can further damage your belongings, seep into the walls or destroy the foundation. The water can penetrate the foundation through cracks in the walls or the floor, removing all the standing water from the floor. You can use buckets, mops, and wipers to remove the water. Once it is done, try to dry the area with fans.
Once the water damage advisors come, they can look at the extent of the problem and start remedial actions. They have high-quality infrared technology to scan the area and see the extent of water penetration. They might also help you find the hidden mold behind the walls that you never knew existed in the house.
Conclusion
Water damage repair and cleanup is a costly and tiring process; therefore, it is important not to waste time and take immediate action. Even a simple mold in your house needs your immediate attention; the more you delay addressing it, the serious it can become. If you are not an expert in such a situation, simply removing the excess water from the house can save a lot of your belongings from getting ruined due to moisture. At the same time, you can contact professionals to help in complete water damage restoration.