Important Steps To Take After Water Damage In Your Home or Business

12/9/2022 (Permalink)

Water cleanup in Baytown, TX

Water Damage in Your Home or Business

When you have a water damage event in your home or business, it can be one of the most stressful situations imaginable. It's important to take action quickly to minimize secondary damage and potential mold growth. Below are some steps to follow after a water damage event:

Find the Source of the Problem and Fix It

Once you have found the source of your water damage and fixed it, make sure that the problem doesn't happen again. You can take some preventative measures to ensure your home or business is protected from water-related damage.

• Install a backflow valve: If you have an appliance such as a washing machine or dishwasher installed in your basement, consider installing a backflow valve to protect it from flooding.
• Check drainage systems: Make sure all drains are functioning properly and that gutters are draining away from buildings rather than towards them.

Document Everything

Documenting your water damage is one of the most important steps you can take after experiencing a flood or other type of disaster. This step will help you with insurance claims, as well as make it easier for contractors to do their jobs properly.

Here are some tips:

• Take pictures of all affected areas (both before and after).
• Make a list of damaged items so that you can replace them individually without having to replace everything at once. This will also make claiming insurance easier in case there’s no coverage.

Clean Damaged Items

To remove any dirt or debris, wipe all parts of the damaged item with a clean cloth. Then, use a mild detergent and warm water to clean all surfaces of the item. Do not use bleach or abrasive cleaning agents on materials that are absorbent, such as wood flooring or upholstery.

Dry items in a warm, dry area. If possible, allow your items to air-dry for several days before attempting to move them back into their original location so they do not get wet again when you move them back into place! If this is not an option for you (maybe because you live in an apartment building), then set up fans around your cleaned area so that it is fully dried thoroughly before bringing it back to your home/business once again!

Dry Out Wet Materials

After you have dried out the area, remove any remaining water using a wet/dry vac or shop vacuum. This will ensure that mold and mildew do not grow in your home.

It is important to clean up any soaked items as quickly as possible to avoid mold growth. To prevent mold and mildew from growing on wet materials, keep the humidity level of your home below 50% for at least three days after the flood or leak occurred.

Call the Professionals

You need to call in the professionals immediately after water damage has occurred in your home or business. You need to have a certified IICRC (Institute of Cleaning and Restoration Certification) restoration company come out and assess the damage for you, as well as give you an idea of what it will take to make things right again. The sooner you act, the better chance you have at saving your property from further damage due to mold or other issues that can occur with prolonged exposure during this time period.

Contacting your insurance agent is another important step when dealing with water damage because it's likely that your insurance policy covers some form of protection against these types of situations happening due to natural disasters such as floods or other events outside our control - but not all policies do! If yours doesn't provide coverage then there's no harm done because they're free agents anyway; however if they do cover damages caused by floods then there's no reason why they shouldn't cover any other damages caused by them too (assuming there aren't any exclusions).

If you experience water damage in your Baytown, TX home, give SERVPRO of Baytown/Channelview a call!