Tips For Flood Damages!

12/1/2020 (Permalink)

Finding flood damage in your home can create quite a bit of stress; after all, no one likes discovering that their living room has been turned into a water recreation facility. As a result, many homeowners are likely to panic and make poor choices in the hours that follow. You can avoid these mistakes by following the flood damage checklist below:

Ensure your safety

Once you see a flood of water in your basement, it may be tempting to go charging right in, but this is generally a bad idea. First, you need to ensure that you're safe. If the power is still on, you could be electrocuted. Additionally, sewage will make you ill, and the water from flood damage can conceal sharp objects to cut yourself on.

Shut off the water source

Now that you know you’re safe, next you need to ensure that the source of the water has been taken care of. Sometimes, this is as simple as turning off a water supply valve. However, more complex problems, like a flooded sewer line, could actually take a few hours. It's a good idea to call the appropriate professional, like a plumber, right away to give them time to start driving out to your flood damaged property.

Call your insurance

Sure, it's tempting to have your first call be to a flood damage clean-up professional, but there's a chance that your insurance doesn't contract out with them. Instead, it's better to have your insurance's claim number programmed into your phone. Call them, report the flood damage, and then call a professional they contract out with.

Call a clean-up crew

Most flood damage clean-up  projects are just too large for you to tackle by yourself. Besides, depending on where you live, you'll likely have mold to clean up afterwards as well. Any money spent on a flood damage clean-up crew will likely be well worth it.

Take pictures and document damage

Your insurance policy will need proof of flood damage if they are going to write you a check. When you're on the phone with your insurance company and the clean-up crew, take photos of the flood damage. Make sure to get detailed photos of valuable items.

If you've planned well, you'll also have pictures of your home in an undamaged state. This lets you prove the state that your house and items were in before the disaster.

Remove what can be saved

Once you've ensured that the area is safe, you have help on the way, and you've thoroughly documented the flood damage, you can begin to remove items out of the area. A word of caution: water is extremely heavy. Any water soaked items will weigh a lot more than you expect. Please, be careful not to injure yourself.

Begin the remediation process

This is where professionals will come in handy. During the remediation process, all excess water will need to be removed, the humidity will need to be brought down to an appropriate level, mold prevention steps will need to be taken, and damaged drywall or flooring will need to be replaced. All of this is a lot of work for one person, so please get professional help.