Confronting Water Damage In The Home

8/29/2017 (Permalink)

Confronting Water Damage In The Home

Flooding is one of the most common forms of water damage in a business or home. The mere sight of a water flooded home can be paralyzing. After all, all of your personal belongings and memories reside within that home. Seeing it threatened by water in the home can temporarily make it very difficult to know what to do. Thankfully, water damage can be contained at first until a professional restoration team can arrive in the home.

Causes of water damage

Water damage has an almost endless list of causes. Natural flooding, a pipe break, a supply line break, broken appliances such as dishwashers, plumbing issues, and more can all cause water in the home. Water in a business can be caused by many of these same problems. Without prompt action, water damage can be extremely expensive. Some estimates can be thousands of dollars to repair, so it's imperative to get a restoration team on the scene as soon as possible so that drying can begin quickly. The sooner drying begins, the sooner the damage will be minimized.

Flood damage can be especially costly because it is not "clean" water like from a dishwasher. Dirty flood damage can mean losing many of the prized possessions in a home, so if the water that is causing a flooded home is dirty or has chemicals in it, it's natural to want an emergency response to the situation. Mitigation, water cleanup, and restoration are all best started as soon as possible. Supply line breaks and pipe breaks require a different course of action than other forms of water flow that have already stopped.

While waiting for restoration professionals

There's no need to leave the scene as-is if there's something that can possibly be done to reduce the damage while waiting for mitigation crews to arrive. While it's never a good idea to go near electrical outlets or appliances when there is water in the home, in some cases you can remove unaffected objects and save them from suffering from the water in the home.

Mitigation is the process of preventing further damage from a flooded home and then implementing the process of water cleanup afterwards. Basically, professionals are there to mitigate between the flooded home and the damage it faces. While waiting for professionals, you can begin mitigation in simple ways, such as removing unaffected items from a floor or mopping in places where there is no electrical currents. Depending on how bad the flood damage is already, it may not be wise to do this. For example, if there is a foot of standing water in the entire kitchen, go to a room or place where something might be salvageable. Never risk safety to do any of these things. Professionals will immediately begin preventing further damage through mitigation as soon as they arrive. To reduce flood damage, it's advisable to begin drying rooms by turning on a central air unit. This won't even begin to complete the extent of drying needed, but it's a small start toward water cleanup. A restoration company will continue when they arrive.

Welcome the restoration company

Anyone who has ever suffered flood damage knows the relief that you feel when a cleanup crew arrives. They have industrial dryers, air movers, and air blowers that accomplish things you simply can't with your limited tools. Whether your damage is coming from a supply line break, a pipe break, or an actual natural flood, you're going to appreciate seeing industrial drying equipment that can quickly dry your possessions and make restoration possible.

Water cleanup begins with inspecting the area and determining a course of action by the restoration company. Water in a business will be inspected in just the same way, though water in a business might have a different source. If the reason for the flooding is because of something like a supply line break or a pipe break, there will be a different course of action to prevent further damage. If it's from a flood that has passed, assessing damage and beginning cleanup and drying is possible. A restoration company is always going to be more efficient at cleanup, mitigation, and restoration than anything a novice could possibly do for water in a home or water in a business.
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