Flooding or severe water damage is one of the worst and devastating things you can experience. This can cause major problems, regardless whether the cause is something minor like broken pipes, leaking appliances (washing machine or dishwasher) or something more severe like sewer backing up or flooded basement.
When it comes to water damage repair, there’s no time to waste. This is because mold (that usually follows) can start developing in 24 hours, no matter whether only your appliance is leaking or your entire basement was flooded. And that’s not all. Water damage can seriously compromise the structural integrity of your home and unfortunately you only become aware of this when it’s too late.
When you notice water damage, the first thing you must do is to find the source and eliminate it. So, you need to find the pipe that is broken, which home appliance is leaking etc. Once you’ve located the source and stopped it from causing any further damage, you need to contact a professional service so they can take the necessary water damage restoration steps and bring your home back to normal and prevent additional damage. From that moment on, ASAP Restoration will take over restoring your home. But what else can you do?
While our experienced technicians work on mitigating the loss, here are 7 other steps you need to take after water damage.
Contact the insurance company
The insurance of your home owner can vary depending on the insurance policy he/she has. Once you contact the insurance company, they will send out the adjuster to review the damage and see if your insurance policy will cover the loss.
You can also help the process by document every valuable you can think of that might have gotten damages, taking photos before and after the cleanup.
Please note that not all insurance policies cover flood damage. If you’re not sure what kind of policy you have, make sure that you confirm with your homeowner or insurance company.
Staying safe
While you are looking over your home, you need to make sure that both you and your family are safe. To make sure that you
Turn off the power – We all well know that water and electricity don’t mix! So make sure that you turn off the power. However, if this requires you to stand in a wet area, call an electrician and let him do it.
Wear protective gear – Regardless of what is the source of the water damage and whether the water is clean, gray or black, make sure that you’re wearing protective gear such as rubber boots and gloves. Especially if the water is gray or black. They can cause discomfort, sickness and can carry disease-causing pathogens.
Protect your valuables – If you have wood furniture in your home lift it off the wet carpet area and insert tin foil underneath the feel in order to prevent it from staining. If you also have carpets or rugs, remove them as well from the wet flooring.
Begin water damage repairs
In water damage repairs, every minute counts. We strongly recommend that you contact us right away and start your water damage repair in the first 24-48 hours. So as soon as your home is safe for re-entry, let us know.
