Tips to Deal with Water Damage at Your Home

Water is an important part of our daily life but sometimes, it brings huge damage to a home in Portland. It can cause all kinds of problems for households, both in the long run and immediately after the damage. From leaky faucets to floods, water damage can cause major safety and health problems, and it can really be a serious threat. Follow these water damage cleanup tips to repair and stop water damage at home.

Content Table:

Fixing Up Water Damage
Removing Mold/Mildew
File a Claim

Let’s get right into it!

Fixing Up Water Damage

Stop the Flow of Water

If water heater failure or burst pipe caused flooding at your home, shut the main line off. If you don’t know the source of water leakage, call the water damage restoration expert.

Turn Off the Power Supply

Turn off the gas and power supply immediately when your home is flooded. In case of heavy floods, turn the power off for safety, though it is not necessary for small leaks. Unless you are insulated well, don’t touch electrical appliances. Ask the electrician if you have to turn off the main line or stand in water.

Inspect the Damage

Before you start to cleanup, find out if rebuilding is important. Take enough pictures and prepare the documents to present to insurance. More on this later.

Rescue the Valuables

If possible, find and rescue the most valuable items from the affected area, including money, jewelry, heirlooms etc. Remember, you don’t have enough time extracting and removing all the items, as water is still damaging your property.

Remove the Standing Water

The longer the water stays, the more damage you will face. Pump out the standing water. If it’s natural flood, wait for it to pump out until water moves away from your house. Don’t forget to wear safety gear like gloves, rubber boots, and respirator or mask.

Keep pets and children away from flood water as it is contaminated. Put the pump at lowest spot of the floor. If water is deep, be sure to lower the pump with nylon rope. In case flooding is small, you may remove the water with wet-dry soap vacuum. It holds only 4 to 5 gallons (around 15 to 18 liters).

Stay on high alert as flood water may have left nails and other sharp materials behind. Mud also contains huge amount of toxins. Remove all the mud and spray your walls down using clean water. Look for mud in air ducts. Rats and snakes may seek shelter in the flooded area.

Never use any outlets or appliances until they’ve had enough time to dry out totally.

Removing Mold/Mildew

Find the Mold – It can grow and be seen in crawlspaces, air ducts, between walls and rafters. If mold is not found, you may feel a musty smell. It must be mold growth which is not seen.

Remove the Moisture Right Away – When signs of water damage like mold and mildew are found, you will want to act quickly. Mold and mildew develop within just 24 to 48 hours of moisture exposure. It will keep on growing until moisture is removed and mold is eliminated.

Shut the Power Off – If you find any moldy or wet wiring or cables, turn the supply off before you start cleaning. Before turning it back on, examine the wiring with the help of electrician.

Dry Out Wet/Moldy Area

Dry out the moldy or wet area right away to keep any mold from building up. The longer an area is left wet, the more likely the mold can form. Open windows if humidity is low outside. You may turn the fan on but only when mold is not growing as fans can also spread the spores of mold. Remove all the wet carpets, toys, furniture etc. from area. Throw all the contaminated food items away.

If wall has been damaged by flood, all the wet material must be removed, such as wooden products, insulation and any porous material.

Prevent Mold from Spreading

If you are facing huge amount of mold growth, be sure to hire professional cleaners. When being cleaned, mold is very dangerous as disturbing it can release spores. Be sure that the area is well ventilated. Wear mask, gloves, eye protection and respirator.

Clean Solid Surfaces – Be sure to wash off the hard materials like solid wood, metal, glass and plastic with hot water and non-ammonia soap. On rough surfaces like concrete, use stiff brush. Remove any standing water with wet-dry vacuum. Clean the surface with 10% bleach liquid and disinfect it. Let the solution to dry for around 10 minutes and clean it with water.

Clean Up Porous Items – Clean all the porous materials like clothing, upholstered furniture, rugs, bedding, books and others. Clean the material and disinfect with cleaner. Find out if any odor or fungus grows after few days of cleaning. Discard the item if mold returns back.

Stop Cleaning If Mold Exposure Causes Allergy – If you start feeling allergic symptoms due to mold exposure, stop cleaning right away and call the professional cleaners. Some of the common signs of allergy are hacking cough, breathing problems like wheezing, sinus congestion, redness, eye irritation, rashes/hives, bloody nose, memory loss, headaches etc.

File a Claim

The sooner you contact the insurance agent, the sooner you can process your claim. The protection of your property relies on your coverage. It is important for an insurance agent to start the process. This way, you should list all the damaged property before you start the cleanup process. Use video evidence and pictures, if possible.

Also tell the agent when you are throwing off health hazards like contaminated food as you can claim it too. Ask if you have to keep the samples of damaged items like piece of rug. Don’t forget to store all the receipts safely during the cleanup process. Secure the receipts of any services you hire and all the supplies. You may have to stay at the motel for nights when it is not possible to stay at home. Even those bills count in the claim process.

Water Damage Repair Portland Oregon

Sounds like a lot of work? It’s because it is. There is a reason why water damage restoration is a big business – a ton of work to do, many health risks, multiple parties involved, and there’s also a lot of equipment one has to manage. It’s not easy.

And we’ve not even mentioned that you have to be able to do all of this late at night or during the weekend, at times you’re typically resting. If you feel like you can DIY successfully, great! Good luck.

But chances are, most of you out there will struggle. And that’s okay. This is the reason why Precise Water Damage Restoration of Portland is here. If you require emergency services and want only the best water damage repair Portland Oregon has to offer, call us!

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Precise Water Damage Restoration of Portland

Monday, March 6, 2023