Insight To Clean Up And Restore Your Home From Water Damage
Water damage inside your home is a real threat and can occur from excessive rainfall, outside flooding, or broken sewer and water lines inside your home. Here are some tips to help you arrange for the clean up of a water damage situation inside your home.
Repair the Leak
One of the first steps you will need to handle once you stop your first stressed out reaction is to handle the source of the water that is damaging your home. If it is a toilet overflowing, for example, you turn off the water at the back of the toilet bowl, and if the leak is coming from an interior water line, you shut off the water valve to your home's main water shut off. If the cause of the water leak is from a broken pipe, you will need to contact a plumber to restore the pipe so you can turn the water back on to your home. However, if the water intrusion is from flooding outside, you will need to wait until the flood waters subside so you can begin the dirty clean-up work.
Remove Water
Once you have discovered a water leak, it is important to begin the clean up as soon as possible so you can begin drying out the area. This step is important because it will reduce and eliminate the chance of mold and mildew that could grow within your home. Make it a goal to remove standing water within the first 24 hours so you can begin drying out with fans, heaters, and dehumidifiers to pull excess moisture from surfaces and the air. This will greatly improve your chance to avoid mold damage. Any time you have a large area of damage inside your home where a good majority of your home interior has been damaged in some way with water, you can contact a professional water damage restoration service to handle the situation fully and professionally. This is a great option to help you out in an overwhelming situation where you are displaced and all your possessions have been ruined and it can be difficult to even see where you should start to begin clean up. Your professional water damage restoration service can manage the process from start to finish.
Handle Dirty Situations
Occasionally with a water leak or flood in your home the source of the flood water may bring with it contaminants from a nearby broken sewer line, polluted water, overflowing sewer drain, or from your home's own plumbing. When this occurs it is essential that you take all precautions to keep yourself protected from the microbes that can come with the flood waters.
Microbes, such as viruses and bacteria can cause some serious illnesses in you and your family, so hire a professional clean up to handle disinfecting of large areas. Otherwise, you will want to throw out saturated furnishings, carpets, drywall, and other porous materials that are not easily cleaned. Non-porous surfaces, such as dishes, flooring, and glass can be disinfected with a water and bleach solution to effectively kill and remove bacteria and viruses.
