Post-Flood Water Damage Prevention Tips

In Canada, floods are typically much less severe, but even these more menial flooding experiences can be dangerous. Burst plumbing and heavy rainfall can put your family at risk of electric shock, and often ruins homes, leaving families poor and without a place to stay. However, if you act quickly, you can minimize the damage and even save some of your possessions that would otherwise have been lost.

Do you know what to do in the place of a flood? Most people are already aware that the demands of a post-flood clean-up far exceed the abilities of most amateur cleaners. Improper cleaning of drywall and other common materials found inside the home’s interior can cause all kinds of damages. In these circumstances, you will need to turn to a professional cleaning company like Steamatic, who can navigate the shock, infection, and drowning hazards of a post-flood cleaning while giving you stunning restoration results.

Though it is crucial to call in professional help, there is more that can be done while you wait for help to arrive. Acting in the proper way can help preserve your property and save many personal items. Taking the wrong course of action, however, can worsen damages and expose you to some serious health hazards. Read on to learn some handy post-flood water damage prevention tips! 

• Unplug your electronics and remove them as fast as possible. Your electronics are probably some of the more expensive items in your home, and unfortunately they are also the most vulnerable to water damage. If you can get these items away from water, you will be much more likely to save them successfully. This means flicking off the breakers, unplugging whatever you can safely reach, and moving all electronics to high-and-dry parts of the house. Do not attempt this step under any circumstances if the water level has risen anywhere near the height of your electrical outlets. 
   
• Rescue any carpets that you can. Even the most sophisticated of water damage restoration services will have a hard time helping you with a moldy and water-logged roll of carpet. Even intensive cleaning efforts will have limited effectiveness, and will probably shrink your carpet in the process. When possible, pull up any carpets including wall-to-wall cuts, area rugs, and their under padding. You should try to move these 
   
• Preserve your precious memories. Gather up any precious items that you can carry and move them to a safe, dry spot as soon as possible. Only you can really decide what is most important for you to preserve in the limited time you will have to act. Many families will opt for old photo albums, digital memory sticks brimming with pictures, and boxes of embarrassing home movies. Whatever you choose to save, you will need to act fast and move as much as possible to high ground.
   
• Prevent mold growth on your way out. As you wrap up your final water damage preparations, you should take a moment to discourage any excessive mold growth. If you leave things where they are, you will be leaving vacancies for bacterial cultures and mold spores to move in. Moving all carpets, drapes, curtains, and any potentially absorbent furniture out of at-risk areas will go a long way towards discouraging mold growth. Where possible, opening windows or turning on fans is an excellent way to decrease humidity and encourage air-drying.

While these water damage prevention methods are effective ways of minimizing worst-case scenarios, they are obviously not enough to combat flooding on their own. These supplementary steps should only be taken after you have contacted Steamatic water damage restoration professionals. Our team of highly-trained and professionally-equipped workers is standing by 24/7. We operate with the urgency and care that a disaster on this scale demands.

Call us today at 1-888-767-7616, or visit Steamatic.ca to learn more.