Water is essential for human existence, which is why it’s impossible to avoid consuming water for a long time. Water is an integral part of our lives. Humans cook with water, take their shower with water and so on. Although water has a lot of benefits, it can also cause a disaster that could lead to the loss of properties and lives in severe cases. This may occur in many forms, such as tsunami, coastal flood, flash floods, burst pipe, leakage of sewage pipes and so on. There isn’t much anyone can do when it starts flooding, considering no one wakes up in the morning, thinking of a flood that may likely affect his/her home. However, there some steps that can be taken, when there is a flood in your building. Calling an emergency water damage restoration, is essential, as they help to limit the further damage of the flood, and also help to repair and restore properties and the building back to the way it was, before the flood.
What Is Emergency Water Damage Restoration?
Time is of the essence, especially when it comes to water damage of properties and building. The longer the water damage restoration process is delayed, the more the damage done. This is why It’s important to seek for an emergency water damage restoration service. Floodwater in homes that are left sitting, without prompt action can lead to the destruction of the carpet, walls, flooring, ceiling and other personal effects in the house. These materials can easily get waterlogged and damaged beyond repair or restoration. Asides from this, microorganisms thrive in humid conditions, which makes a waterlogged home the perfect environment for them to grow. Examples include molds, bacteria, mildews and so on. These organisms are dangerous and pose a risk to the health of the occupants of the building. The various harmful effects of water damage can be greatly avoided by hiring an emergency water damage restoration company. Most water damage restoration companies do offer this service, and they are usually available 24 hours.
What Does the Emergency Water Damage Services Entail?
The workers of water damage restoration companies are experts that have received the necessary education and skills that are needed to carry out restoration services on buildings. Asides from this, the technicians do have some experience and have dealt with a lot of water damage cases, which would be similar to yours. This makes their work easy, as they’ve done it before, maybe a couple of times.
Trained professionals received the Institute of inspection, cleaning, and restoration certification, and they would also carry out emergency water damage restoration services in compliance with the highest standards for professional water damage restoration. Below are the main services offered by emergency water damage restoration companies:
- Cleanup of water and sewer leakage.
- Cleaning, drying and deodorizing: Emergency water damage restoration companies help to clean the contents of parts of the building that is affected by water damage. The materials that cannot be restored or repair are discarded. The cleaning process usually involves the use of anti-microbial agents, as well as air-cleaning, making use of state-of-the-art equipment. The special equipment used by companies, especially in drying the house are not removed, until the temperature, humidity and moisture level of the building is normal. They check this by testing for the moisture level, using the moisture meter. Making use of simple drying methods are usually not enough to remove water from buildings effectively. Surface cleaning only eliminates visible contamination; however, a lot of microorganisms are left behind, which are capable of causing various health problems for the occupants. All the surfaces of the building that has been touched by water have to be well cleaned, disinfected, and deodorized by experts. This is why emergency water damage restoration companies are always the best option.
- You are drying out of the contents of your building and structure.
- Water leak repair
How To Stay Safe When A Flood Threatens
- It’s important to know the types of flood risk in your area. You can check online to get this type of information or check the flood map service. This information would encourage you to get prepared for any case of a flood.
- You should sign up for the community’s warning system. This would alert you as soon as there is a flood.
- If there is a history of flash floods in your area, then you should monitor any potential signs of this such as heavy or torrential rain.
- You should learn your evacuation routes, such as shelter plans, and flash flood response.
- You should have a medical first aid kit, flashlight, and canned food products in a safe.
What Are The Things You Should Do When You Find Your Property Underwater?
Home water damage occurs more than people realize. Statistics showed that about 37% of American homeowners have claimed that they’ve had some sort of water damage. The water damage may be due to a burst pipe, sewer backup, faulty appliance, heavy rain, flash flood and so on. It’s important to protect yourself and your property when this occurs. Water damage restoration companies also help to repair and restore your properties and structure back to normalcy. Below are the things you should do when you experience a home flood situation:
- Acceptance: This is usually one of the most challenging things to do, especially after water damage to your properties and structure. You’d need to admit that some of your properties are damaged, and you’d have to replace them. It’s normal to feel stressed and overwhelmed. However, the next thing on your mind should be how to remove the water and clean up the mess that has been created. You’d also need to act fast, as organisms such as mold, start growing as early as 12 hours after a flood. You must accept that it might take some time to get over the loss of your properties and also replacing them.
- Safety must always come first: You should always put your safety first, in any water damage situation. One of the ways of doing this is by ensuring that the main electrical power supply to the house is turned off, then unplug your appliances from the socket. You should also find your fuse box, and turn the main breaker, as well as the individual fuse switches. This is to ensure that there won’t be any case of electrocution if power is suddenly restored. You should still do this, even when the electrical power of your area is switched off. Lastly, you should hire a qualified electrician to come to assess, clean and dry the power box, before the power source of your building can be turned on again.
- Dress appropriately: After turning off the electrical supply to the house, you should ensure you dress to protect yourself. You should wear protective clothing like rubber boots and gloves. The purpose of doing this is to protect yourself from whatever is in the flood water, which may contain toxic chemicals, debris, dangerous animals, dirt, sewage and so on. Flood water can be contaminated and very toxic, especially when the flood water is coming from outside the house, which is why protecting yourself is paramount. In addition, you should touch your mouth with your gloves or hand, or anything that has had contact with the flood water. You should avoid walking in the flood water if you don’t have a rubber boot.
- Limit further damage by stopping the water source: One of the most important things to limit the damage done is by stopping the water source. This would only be possible when you know where the water is coming from. This could be a burst pipe, a broken appliance. You should immediately turn off the main water supply to your house. However, the situation may be different when the flood is caused by storms or other natural disasters. In this case, you should call your city management to ensure that the storms drain are open and cleaned out so that the water can recede and be removed faster. The less amount of water that gets to your house, the less amount of water you’d have to extract. Recent developments have now made it possible for automatic valves, to prevent leakage and prevent further damage.
- Ensure your property is safe: You must ensure that your house is safe before you enter. Some of the ways to know this is by looking from outside and looking out for buckled walls, floors as indicators that structural damage has occurred. In this case, you shouldn’t enter the house, as it has a high risk of collapse. You should also check for cracked foundations. You must contact your utility companies as soon as you notice there is damage to your water, gas, electric or sewer lines. Overall, your safety is more important than keeping your properties safe. You can easily replace the properties lost when you’re alive, so it’s best to ensure it’s safe to enter the building before you do.
- Call your insurance company: The cost of restoration, reconstruction, or repair of buildings after water damage can be overwhelming. However, this becomes easy when you have good flood insurance. Having a homeowner’s insurance that covers flooding due to burst pipes, broken appliances, back up sewers, storm drains and so on is essential. It’s important to call your insurance company promptly to quicken the restoration process and return to normalcy. The insurance company would send their agents to come to assess the damage and to determine if you’re covered for any losses. However, it’s important you follow the instructions from your insurance company about the cleanup and restoration process. You shouldn’t start any repair works until their agent has assessed the situation, or before you’ve been given the authorization to do so. You should take pictures and videos of the damages, and present to your insurer, as you move through the process. Ensure there is a clear communication line between the insurance company and you. Overall, you must have flood insurance that covers a lot of things, if you know you live a flood risk area. This would go a long way in saving money, should a flood happen.
- Hire a water damage restoration contractor you can trust: It’s important to hire a water damage restoration contractor that you can trust. Most people usually call their plumber, as soon as they notice a broken appliance or burst pipe. The plumber would then make use of his expertise to stop the pipe leakage, or fix the pipe, or resolve whatever the problem might be, as long it’s plumbing related. Plumbers would then refer their clients to a restoration company they know can get the job done. However, some plumbers try to be cunny by having an unethical business agreement with restoration companies, with a promise of recouping the kickback in your restoration bill. This is why you shouldn’t sign any contract or allow any restoration company starts working on your property until your insurance company has sent their adjuster to come to inspect and evaluate the level of damage done, and also assess your claims. In addition, you should not sign a contract that removes you as the claimant and gives the restoration company ownership of your payout from the insurance company. Trustworthy contractors would have transparent, honest business practices, and won’t receive any kickbacks for referrals. Their businesses are strictly built on excellent customer services fair pricing and clear A reliable company would even help you file your claims, without inserting themselves as the claimant, and would also get the insurance company to authorize their work.
- Document everything: You should bear in mind to document everything in the house that is damaged, even before removing the water or rearranging the house for cleanup. You should take pictures, and make videos of the entire house, showing the extent of the damage. These would be important in filing your claim with your insurance company. You should take pictures and videos, even as the restoration of the house is being done. The more materials and evidence you can provide, the better. This should include the pictures and videos of the household items and furnishings that have been damaged by water. You don’t have to wait to get authorization before doing anything. Getting an authorization may take some time, so it’s best to inform them of the flood situation, and that you’d be documenting every part of the process. This would help prevent the further damage to your property, and also the cost of repair and restoration that would be paid by your insurance company.
References
Duong, A., Greet, J., Walsh, C., & Sammonds, M. (2018). Managed flooding can augment the benefits of natural flooding for native wetland vegetation. Restoration Ecology, 27(1), 38-45. doi: 10.1111/rec.12816
Brown, J. (2013). After The Flood. Health Affairs, 32(12), pp.2223-2223.
Foudi, S., Osés-Eraso, N. and Galarraga, I. (2017). The effect of flooding on mental health: Lessons learned for building resilience. Water Resources Research, 53(7), pp.5831-5844.
