The Process Of Water Damage Restoration For Homeowners

A free article on Home and Family

By: Jacklyn Hartfield

Water damage restoration process is the deliberate action of the homeowner against water damage. Water damage can destroy your home, probably your most valuable asset, and even put your family's health at risk. The process of water damage restoration may be expensive, but still it depends on the severity of the damage and the homeowner's quick decision to do something about it. So if you are wondering what to do at the flooded basement of your home, or a carpet soaked in water several feet deep, the homeowner should quickly decide to take appropriate steps and work their way through an action plan. The homeowner should take water damage restoration one step at a time. Obviously, we all know that cleaning up is not fun.

* Walls of your home should be checked for any indication of structural damage. Prolonged exposure of moisture to drywall can lead to both rot and mold that's why dry wall shouldn't be soaked with a lot of water.

* It is necessary to turn off the house electricity. Be wary even during power failure as power may suddenly come back.

* The gas at your house should be turned off. It is better to be safe than sorry.

* Take a picture of the damages of your home just in case you decide to file a claim from your insurance company.

* Get rid of several amount of water, using pails for the jobs. When large quantities of water should be removed, rent a water pump or go to a fire department and ask them if they can pump and remove the water for you. If the water level is low, remove the water as much as possible with the use of a wet/dry vacuum or a mop. There are supermarkets that rent wet/dry vacuum and can do a good job for you.

* Now we have to deal with the carpets once the water is pumped out and gone. If your carpets were flooded by unclean water, river or salt water, sorry, but you have to put the carpet straight into a dumpster. But if the carpet was flooded with clean water, lift it up and discard the pad of the carpet. Then the carpet should be elevated on the blocks or anywhere elevated that won't absorb the moisture, in order for it to dry. Once the water in the floor is removed, you have 2 to 3 days to clean, sanitize and dry the floor. The furniture should also be dried to avoid the growth of molds. Mold is not a good small organism to grow and increase in number inside the house; it destroys furniture and other materials inside the house. Molds can also cause illness like flu and triggers allergies.

* If the carpet is not completely dry in 2-3 days, dump it because the mold will make the carpet useless, Use a machine wash or dry the area with clean rags. In discoloration and bleeding prevention, a plastic or aluminum foil should be used under the wooden furniture legs. Punch tiny holes in the ceilings that are soaked and sagged from the weight of trapped water, the soaked ceiling will be relieved from trapped water. Make sure that you have placed something underneath the punched holes that will collect the water trapped from the ceilings.

* It would help if the homeowner will call a water damage restoration company for the task mentioned. Your house may feel and look like a construction area or Las Vegas in summer for 2 to 3 days but it is better to be safe and worry free.

* Building materials in the walls should be checked because wallboard, insulation, panel etc. cannot dry up immediately. Make sure everything is dry to prevent mold and rot.

* To ensure the efficacy of the water damage restoration process, homeowners may begin the process of putting her house in order once the affected area is completely dry, from the carpet pad, insulation, ceilings, wallboards and carpets.

However, for most of us it is practical to hire a water damage restoration experts and professionals.