When you think of floods, the first thing that comes to mind is a natural event such as a heavy storm, melting snow or ice, or ocean waves swallowing the shore, resulting in water encroaching on otherwise dry land. However, flooding extends beyond natural factors. For example, if a failure in your plumbing system goes undetected, it can lead to a flooded indoor space. Similarly, basements in homes often get flooded due to sump pump failures.
What is a Flood?
A flood is an overflow of water onto indoor and outdoor surfaces that are supposed to be dry. It can be only a few inches above the ground or be invasive enough to reach the roof of homes. It can last for days or weeks and depending on the degree of water contamination, it can lead to a lot of damage and even prove dangerous for communities.
Now that you know what is a flood, let’s find out how you can address flood damage when you find yourself in a similar situation:
How to Address Flood Damage
Below are some immediate steps to take when faced with flood damage.
Call Your Insurance Company
Before anything else, file your homeowners’ insurance claim. Your insurance company will immediately deploy an adjuster to check and evaluate the damage and determine if the losses are covered. Before, during, and after the cleanup process, capture images of all damaged items. This should assist the adjuster when they assess the scope of the damage.
Ensure Safety
This is one of the most important steps to take when faced with a flooded situation. No matter what, you should keep yourself and your family safe at all times.
For obvious reasons, electricity and moisture don’t work well together. If you can turn off the power without having to enter wet areas, do that immediately.
When re-entering the flooded space for some reason, don’t proceed without wearing protective clothing such as gloves and rubber boots. This should protect you against any bacteria and other harmful agents present in the standing water.
Save Your Possessions
If your wooden furniture is in contact with wet carpeting, lift it off from it and prevent your carpet from staining by inserting a tin foil under your feet. Similarly, look around for other items that can be salvaged.
Seek Professional Flood Damage Restoration
Water damage restoration should begin within 24-48 hours of flooding, beyond which water damage can translate into more complex issues such as mold invasion. Instead of hiring just anyone claiming to be a remediation expert, choose your restoration company wisely. Ask about their experience, whether the technicians are licensed and certified to perform the job, and so on.
Conclusion
If you have flood damage, regardless of the root cause, reach out to Ram Restoration, a reputable flood damage restoration company that has helped recover countless properties and items for homeowners. We’ll return your property to its pre-damaged condition in no time, regardless of the complexity of the damage.