Where To Start After Your House Has Been Flooded?
Whether it’s from all the winter snows melting or torrential rains, flood water damage to a home can be devastating. It’s important to know just where to start after your house has been flooded. Considerations include filing an insurance claim, staying safe, cleaning up and fixing up.
File a Claim
People who experience flooding and have flood insurance should call their insurance agent as soon as possible after flooding occurs to file a claim. It’s a good idea to take pictures showing the flood waters in the house and then to take pictures again after the flood waters recede. These should be shown to the insurance adjuster when he/she comes by to assess the damages.
Staying Safe
Health and safety are primary considerations after flood water damage. Any time a home is flooded it should be checked for structural damage before anyone reenters it. It’s important that electricity be turned off. The electrical wiring and heating and cooling systems should be checked to avoid the risk of electrocution. Gas should also be turned off and should not be turned back on until you make sure there are no gas leaks. If gas is smelled authorities should be called immediately. After flooding, it’s important to listen for boil water advisories to make sure the water is safe to use. Finally, it’s important to be up to date on vaccinations because flood waters are contaminated with bacteria.
Cleaning Up
Cleaning up after flooding is quite a chore. In order to avoid additional damage to the foundation, remaining water should be pumped out slowly. The remaining mud must then be shoveled out. All food and toiletry items that have come in contact with the flood water should be thrown out. Next, it’s time to decide what is salvageable and what needs to be thrown away. As a final measure, the home and all salvageable items need to disinfected with a bleach solution and dried out. For extensive instructions on how to clean up after flooding see this article: Flood Damage Clean Up.
Fixing Up
Once the home has been disinfected and has dried out, it’s time to make repairs and refurnish it. The number of repairs needed depends on the amount of damage. Carpet and sheetrock always have to be replaced. Oftentimes floors buckle and must be redone. Furniture that could not be salvaged will have to be repurchased. For extensive instructions on how to restore water damaged furniture see this article: Flood Damage Repair.
Many homes lie in flood prone areas and a home that floods once is subject to future flooding. Flood water damage – it’s important to know where to start after your house has been flooded.
Hello, i am John and have over ten years experience in water damage clean up, water damage restoration and water damage mold. During my career i noticed that a lot of homeowners are uninformed about water damage and it's consequences. This site provides you with how-to guides and lots of information on water damage and everything what's involved.