Water damage in your home can happen for various reasons. It can happen in your bathroom, kitchen, basement, and living room, and it can affect your floors, walls, ceilings, furniture, appliances, and electronics. At the first sign of water damage, you should take action. Water damage is not something to take lightly, as it can lead to more severe damage such as structural damage, which can cost thousands in repairs. To handle this situation the right way and avoid further damage to your home, here is a list of water damage dos and don’ts for water damage restoration.
What to Do
Contain the Water
The first step to dealing with water damage is to check for the source of the water and contain it. There could be many sources. If the source was a leaky pipe, place a bucket to collect the water or find a way to stop the flow. If the source was a clogged toilet, call your local plumber or plunge it to prevent more flooding. Whether you can identify the source or not, contact a professional restoration company to help you mitigate any further water damage.
Remove Standing Water
If there are items in the standing water, you should remove them to prevent additional damage. Plants, furniture, décor, and appliances should be removed from the source of water. As for the standing water, this water can be removed by mopping and using buckets to get it out of your basement. In the care of more serious water damage situations, you will need special equipment to remove the water.
Turn on Ventilation
The next step is to ensure the area has proper ventilation to air out and dry up the water. The key in the days ahead is to reduce the humidity and moisture in the area as much as possible so mould does not grow. It’s easy to think that once the floor is mopped that the risks are gone, but water and moisture can stay in hidden areas and continue to damage your home.
Protect Documents and Important Papers
If you have any valuable documents in your basement, you should always store them in waterproof, air-tight sealed containers. If you had them in cardboard boxes that got wet during the flood, remove these papers and air dry them to prevent them from smudging and getting ripped or ruined from the water. A good preventative tip is to store these documents high up, such as on the top shelf of your closet or on a bookshelf, away from the floors where water and dirt can get to them.
What Not to Do
Avoid the Water if There Are Electrical Hazards
It is very important to note that if there are potential electrical hazards, such as water covering electrical outlets, you should not enter the water or touch it. Immediately contact a water damage restoration team who has the right safety equipment and procedures to handle your situation.
Don’t Use Household Vacuum Cleaners
Even if you have a wet and dry vacuum cleaner, you should not try to suck up water with it. These machines may be safe for small spills and moisture, but they are not intended to suck up water from a flood.
Don’t Use Personal Items That Are Wet from the Flood
If you have any personal hygiene items that were left in the flooded area, you should throw them away and do not use them. This is especially a hazard if the water came from an unsanitary source.
Don’t Try to Clean Sewage Water Up
Water from a leaky pipe in your kitchen might be safe, but if your flood was caused by a sewage backup, stay away from the area and contact the professionals immediately. Sewage water is contaminated with bacteria and other tiny organisms that spread illness and disease. They can pose serious health risks if you come into contact with the water.
Don’t Use Electronics on Wet Carpet or Floors
You should never operate electronics on wet carpet or floors. If an area has been affected by a flood or water damage and isn’t properly dried, you could risk electrical shock or damage to your items. You can use rubber electricity-safe gloves to unplug the electronics and carefully remove them from the area, but extreme caution should be taken when dealing with electricity and water damage.
Call Flood Services Canada for Water Damage Restoration
There are many steps you can take to prevent your valuables from getting ruined by water damage, but if it’s too late, the steps you take going forward are crucial. Your goal is to remove the water, dry the area completely, reduce the risk of mould and rot, and protect your valuables and your property. This may be too big of a task to handle on your own, which is why there are professional water damage restoration companies available.
At Flood Services Canada, we will determine the source of the water, and whether it is dangerous or not. We also have the right equipment to unplug electronics, shut off electricity, remove hazards, and clean up your basement or flooded area. With our high-tech drying equipment, we can remove all traces of moisture, so you won’t need to worry about mould showing up in the weeks after.
If you need quick water damage restoration, Flood Services Canada can help you. Our professionals offer a variety of services and solutions to problems related to water damage, and we can help you work with your insurance company to get your life back to normal as soon as possible. We deploy our quick-response teams to cities across the Greater Toronto Area to help homeowners save their home in emergency situations.
Our services include 24/7 sewage, water damage, and food cleanup services and we will use the best techniques, personnel, and equipment to ensure your home is clean, safe, and dry as soon as possible. Contact us at (416) 302-2107 to learn more about our services, or use our emergency hotline at (416) 999-3930 to get our rapid-response teams deployed to your location.
