You may have never considered where to start if your home has suffered water damage. You could just open the door and start looking for damaged items and places, but that’s not going to do you any good if you can’t tell what is salvageable.
With a little bit of planning ahead of time, you can systematically go through your home and determine what needs to be replaced, repaired or discarded with the help of https://flood24seven.com/. Here are things you need to know before you do anything:
You need to get a fire extinguisher
When you have water damage, it is inevitable that there will be some smoke and some smolders. If you live in an older home with septic tanks, then you likely have a chemical smoke set off as well. You need to have a fire extinguisher on the premises. You should always have one available in your home, but if you don’t then you need to get one today and make sure that it’s placed where it’s accessible from all parts of the home. It is important that you know how to use it, too. Practice with it beforehand so you’re ready for any emergency situation.
Getting water out of your home
This is critical! You can’t replace or repair items if you don’t get the water out. You need to start by turning off the main water valve. You may have to turn off all of them if you have a lot of damage. If your home has a sump pump, then put it in action as soon as possible so that it doesn’t start creating more problems by drawing itself down with debris.
Put a blanket over any damaged areas
This will prevent any dust or debris from drifting into these areas, possibly damaging your belongings in the process. You need to be sure they’re covered and protected at all times to prevent water damage.
Take photos of everything that needs repairing or replacing
Before you begin, take photos of all your damaged (or missing) items so that you can get an idea of just how much it would cost to replace them. You may be tempted to fix some of the smaller items yourself, but it is best to decide whether or not you want to replace those items before fixing them. You can’t tell how bad things are until you actually get in there and look around.
Don’t use the area that’s damaged until it is fixed
This means that all members of the family need to avoid that area as much as they can while you’re working on repairs and getting everything cleaned up. You don’t want any accidents while you’re trying to clean up rain damage. Don’t put anything up against the walls or in harm’s way.
Clean up your belongings as soon as they are dry
You need to get your belongings dried out and clean so that mold won’t have time to grow on them. If you can, then place those items outside for a few days so the sun can help speed up the drying process before putting them back inside and into storage containers.
