Water damage is a common occurrence in areas prone to flooding. It can also happen when a pipe burst or water leaks from sources that are directly connected to the house. It leads to an outbreak of harmful diseases and can be potentially dangerous to the floors or the furniture of the house. Very few things feel more hopeless than having your house flood. Floods can take their toll on every inch of your home and ruin many valuables and items beyond repair. This is why it is essential that you work with professional contractors who are experienced in water extraction immediately after the event to ensure minimal damage.
Flooded water in your house generates mold and mildew in your house wall, basement, floors, doors and surface that further increases the likelihood for breeding of harmful disease that will affect your family members. To tackle it effectively the first and foremost thing is to know the exact source of water in your home and take the necessary action. Here are the top 5 tips for protecting your floors in case there is a flood in your house.
Mop and Blot
The first thing that you should do is mop all the hard floors and blot the carpet in your home as much as you can. Many times, floods happen because sewers back up and if this is also the case in your situation, you should rinse any waterlogged washcloths, towels, and mops into buckets and then dump them outside on the lawn. Dumping the water down the drain is going to be counterproductive in the event that the flood was the result of a drain or sewer blockage. The best way to approach this is to work from the top floor of your home down to decrease the likelihood of water from the top floors seeping down and creating a bigger problem on the floors below.
Wipe Excess Water from Everything
Make sure to wipe excess water from everything. Water from furniture can seep onto the floor and create problems later on. For example, if you have a sofa that got wet and you did not dry it out as much as you could after a flood because you were just going to toss it, you need to note that the water might have soaked through the sofa and onto the floor and caused damage to your floor. Wipe and soak up all the water you can regardless as in a flood situation no surface is ever really safe from water damage.
Turn On All the Fans
Next, do what you can to dry out the floor as much as possible before the professionals arrive. Get every fan that you have in your home and turn them on. Run your air conditioner as well to work on dehumidifying the home. If you have portable dehumidifiers, these are great to use as well. However, you will not be able to completely dry out the floor just using fans and dehumidifiers. You really need to work with professionals to make sure the floor is dry and that you will not have problems in the future resulting from the wet flooring such as mold.
Remove Colored Items from the Floor
Colored items such as magazines, newspaper, furniture, and clothes should be removed from the floor and placed on tables, counters, or anywhere up higher. If left on the floor, these items run the risk of their color bleeding and staining your carpet or hard flooring. You do not want to be dealing with water damaged floors, walls, and ceilings as well as discolored flooring. The water extraction company may be able to salvage the flooring itself but might not be able to do anything if the flooring is stained after it is dry.
Do Not Use the Vacuum
Using a vacuum on wet floors or floors that you suspect might be damp is asking for trouble, but it is something that many people still do. To avoid being electrocuted, leave the vacuum in the broom closet and refer to the first tip above to just mop and blot the floors as much as you can. Working with a water extraction company that specializes in water damage floor restoration is your best bet for getting over a flood and keeping you and your family happy, healthy, and safe despite the disaster you have experienced.
Remember, Mr. Flood Repair is here to help, find flood repair service providers near you…