If you experience water damage to your home, it can be extremely frustrating. Water damage can not only affect the structure of your home but your furnishings as well. This can be costly. If you experience any form of water damage, it is best to move swiftly to deal with it so that you don't end up with damage that is permanent. If you have never had an experience like this before, you may not know what to do immediately after water has flooded your home. Here is a guide that you can use to help you know more about water damage restoration.
Ensure Your Safety
Your first instinct when you have water damage to your home is to start looking through your home the see where the damage has been done. Before you do this, you should ensure that you turn off the power.
Water and electricity make a dangerous combination. You may be tempted to turn off the power yourself. However, if turning off the power means that you have to stand in water to do so, it is best to leave it to a professional.
Get Protective Gear
Before you go into a flooded home, make sure that you put on protective gear. Get some rubber boots, as well as gloves before you go inside. Remember floodwaters can hide a lot of debris. You never know if some of it may have sharp areas that will injure you. Injuries in floodwaters can become filled with bacteria.
Start Protecting Your Belongings
Once you have gotten the power turned off and you are wearing protective gear, it is time to enter the home and try to protect your valuables. Furniture legs that are sitting in water need to be protected quickly. If furniture legs are standing on wet carpets, the best thing to do is to wrap them carefully in tin foil to prevent the feet from putting stains on your carpet. If there are rugs on the wet floors, then you should take them up to prevent them from sticking to the floor.
Start drying out your home by turning on the central air conditioning system. If you have a humidifier, you should also turn it on to try and take the moisture out of your home. Remember that the first 24 hours are the most important. You want to ensure that you get your home dry at least 4 days after flooding has taken place. In this way you will avoid mold and mildew build-up.