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What YOU Can Do When Facing a Home Water Damage

water damage cleanupWhen your home floods it can be very easy to start panicking, pacing and becoming impulsive. However, this may not be the best way to assess the problem. Here are a few tips on how you can aid the cleanup and reduce the stress and headache of a home water damage.

  1. Safety first!

First and foremost, always remember that if anything looks even the slightest bit unsafe or difficult, you are better off waiting for a qualified professional. There are a lot of risks that come from water damage – especially if it comes from above (a roof or has come from the main floor into a basement). There could be heavy, water-soaked Sheetrock on the ceiling that could collapse or water that has filled up overhead light fixtures, etc. Before you do anything, make sure it is safe to do so, your safety comes first and you’re always better safe than sorry.

  1. Cut off the water flow

After evaluating the situation and ensuring that it is safe to act, you first need to stop the affected area from getting any worse. You can do this by shutting off your main water valve, stopping all the water to your house until you can locate and repair the problem area.

  1. Unplug everything

Because electricity and water have that kind of toxic relationship where whenever they get together it can be catastrophic for everyone, it is imperative that you take the necessary steps to ensure that nobody gets hurt. If you are faced with a water damage involving standing water, it is important that you unplug anything that uses electricity and remove it from the area. Doing this will prevent anything from an electrical short to even electrocution or an electrical fire. Make sure that when you do so you are wearing the proper safety gear such as rubber boots and gloves.

  1. “Capture the Moment”

Even though this may not seem like a memory you’d like to “capture” and hold on to forever, it may even be closer to a nightmare that you want to wake up from and never remember again; however, taking pictures can be very beneficial in the event of a water damage. Before you panic and start trying to remove all of your stuff from the room, you should take pictures of anything that looks damaged. Generally, the more pictures the better! You will use these in your insurance claim and will need to supply proof that your belongings were damaged as a result of the water damage.

  1. Rescue your valuables

Even if the water damage isn’t severe, you should still start moving anything that hasn’t been damaged to a safe place. Even though the water valve has been shut off, anything is still at risk of damaging.

  1. Make a call

After you’ve completed the previous steps, you need to make an important call. You should call a qualified professional in water extraction and restoration, such as Stover’s. They have been trained and will ensure that everything is cleaned up safely and properly with no stress to you.

  1. Start collecting water

After you’ve made the call to a qualified professional you should try to clean up as much of the standing water as you can. You can do so with a mop, a towel, a shop-vac, or even with a bucket. If your water damage doesn’t involve any standing water, go ahead and sit down, relax, and wait for the professionals to knock at your door and take care of the problem.

By following these simple steps, you will not only help the professionals assess and repair the damage quicker and more efficiently but also give your belongings and valuables less chance of ruin and help reduce stress. Remember to remain calm, think clearly, and act fast.