How to Deal With Water Damage
It’s a scenario no homeowner wants to encounter: You arrive home, only to find a flood in your basement, bathroom, or, worse, living room. Your first inclination is to remove your belongings and try to get the water out, but be careful in your approach.
Water, whether dripping and accumulating gradually or flowing out of a pipe and flooding your home, causes a significant amount of damage, both to your structure and any possessions inside. Not only that, its presence attracts mold, collects behind walls and inside floors, and may attract bacteria to grow. As well, you never know what’s in the water; the flood could end up exposing you and your family to pathogens and contaminated liquids, both harmful to your health.
So, what can you do to minimize the damage and restore your home?
- If the water’s coming from a valve, shut it off as soon as possible. To be safe, shut off any power and natural gas lines.
- Disconnect any electronics – anything that could create a current.
- After you think the space is safe, remove any furniture, mattresses, pillows, and particle board to a dry area, and pull up the carpet. Be warned: Many of these items may need to be discarded.
- Try to remove as much water as you can, through towels to absorb it, pouring it down a drain, sucking it up with a wet/dry vacuum, or using a sump pump.
- After the room appears relatively clear and free of water, dry it out with fans or a dehumidifier. Consider opening windows for better circulation.
From here, however, contact a pro like M. Brett to get the rest of the job done and to clean up your home. A professional can:
- Identify pockets of moisture and bacteria that have seeped into the wall or floor.
- Clean them up through power washing with disinfecting detergents, sped-up drying, and mold removal.
- Replace any drywall or plaster the water damaged.
After this emergency, contact M. Brett Painting to make a plan of action. To learn more, give us a call or fill out on online form today.