6 Do’s and Don’ts in a Water Damage Emergency

Water. It’s natural, and it’s all around us. What do you do when it comes into your office, especially in places it shouldn’t be? While eliminating water from your building may appear to be a simple task, the fact is that water leaves behind a slew of problems that most of us cannot see. Those who want to avoid long-term damage, structural integrity difficulties, and feared mold development should approach water damage restoration with caution.

While it may be tempting to Google what to do in the event of a flood, there is a lot of conflicting information available. It is not recommended to leave the cleansing and restoration to chance. The universal facts concerning water repair, on the other hand, are more generic and have to do with receiving aid as soon as possible. Here are a few dos and don’ts to be aware of before you begin.

What to Do in case of Water or Flood Damage

Protect the place

First, be sure it’s safe to be near the water. Depending on the amount of damage, you may find yourself in a risky scenario. Turn off the water and power supplies, as well as any appliances or mechanical instruments that might conduct electricity or cause extra water to enter the area. Cover any openings in the roof or walls with tarps to keep the weather away. Look for rats and other pests that may have made their way in or been brought in with the water. Secure any heavy furniture or equipment that may collapse, or – better yet – remove it entirely from the premises. Decide right once if it’s a location you can stay until help arrives, keeping in mind any workers or customers who could be in danger while you wait.

Contact your insurance company

The next step should be to contact your insurance carrier. Even if your damage was caused by water and you don’t have flood insurance, it’s worth looking into. Depending on the cause of the water, there may be a way for a policy to cover it, especially if it was caused by someone else who has insurance.

Take away any valuables

Some goods may have already been irreparably ruined, but if you can remove costly stuff from the premises, do so. If feasible, special equipment, computers, and financial records should be transported off-site. Natural catastrophes and building damage might attract thieves even if they can be built above the waterline. You don’t want anyone taking advantage of your office’s poor structure to steal from you.

Put up anything you can

If your equipment or furniture hasn’t already been destroyed, transport it to the highest level of your building or stack it on top of other furniture. Remember that even if goods are above the waterline, the entire room will be humid and moist. Simply being in a wet building might lead them to develop mold or get musty, so only do this if you can’t get them out completely.

What to Avoid in case of Water or Flood Damage

Don’t try to fix things on your own

The most important thing to know when dealing with water damage, whether from a storm or an exploding toilet, is that you won’t be able to tackle most of the procedure on your own. Even if you weren’t already overwhelmed by the loss of your house or workplace to water, you probably don’t have the equipment or industry-accepted resources to restore the area to a healthy, stable state. 

Aside from water pumps, fans, and dehumidifiers, materials may need to be demoed and replaced. The whole water damage cleanup procedure is lengthy, and each stage must be handled with care to ensure that the problem does not reoccur. Home and business owners commonly attempt to tackle water problems on their own, but the fact is that determining the amount of the damage simply by looking may be difficult.

Furthermore, if it is your own business, you are likely to be passionate and sensitive about the assets that have been harmed. You might not be able to tell whether anything needs to be replaced. 

Everything has a history, from the carpet to the paint; having a third-party professional team come in and tell you the truth is the greatest conclusion. They can tell you what may and cannot be kept and what must be removed. Finally, eliminating everything that is beyond repair is the best way to avoid additional health problems caused by mold or a crumbling structure.

Delay seeking assistance

As you can see from the above paragraph, attempting to control too much of the restoration process might have costly effects. Making mistakes is expensive! Another approach to increase the total cost of resolving the water problem is to procrastinate too long. If you take a “wait and see” approach, your structure might be silently disintegrating beneath the wetness, or mold could be growing. If you’re persuaded it’s a task for the pros, don’t waste any time. Make the call as soon as you realize there will be an issue.