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What To Do After Your House Floods

Name: Exit Mold
Address: 1 Irwin Ct., Lynbrook, New York, 11563, United States
Telephone: (516) 512-7877

Experiencing a house flood is one of the most overwhelming home disasters one can face. The sheer damage alone is a huge issue to overcome, let alone the emotional toll floods cause.

During the flood event, you are focused on taking care of your family and ensuring their safety. But what happens after the flood? As you look around your wet, dirty, and damaged home, you most likely don’t know where to start.

Read on to learn more about what to do after your house floods so you can overcome this disaster faster and more thoroughly.

Step #1: Ensure Your Safety First

When a home floods, there is much more to worry about than the water alone. If floodwater has infiltrated your home in any capacity, do not walk through the water if you can avoid it. Floodwater is considered a safety hazard.

As it flowed down your street or across your lawn before leaking into your home, it may have picked up hazards like:

Sharp debris
Chemicals or gas
Human or livestock waste
Bacteria
Organic materials

In addition to the danger that the water presents, it could also have infiltrated your electrical systems while it flowed into your home. Floodwater can actually electrically charge the standing water in your basement or living room.

When you discover the flooded area of your home, locate your electrical box and turn off power to the area if possible. If you can’t access it without walking through the water, avoid the space entirely.

Step #2: Document the Damage of the Flood

Flood insurance is a vital part of your recovery. If you have flood insurance, you will need to take as many pictures as possible to document the damage. Don’t wait to do this. Your insurance team is going to want images of the damage as soon as it happens, so take the time to get it done right away.

Take photos and videos of the damage, and don’t throw away any damaged items until you have documented them. You should also keep a written inventory of the items lost or damaged in the process. This can help you recover and work with your insurance much faster.

You should also contact your insurance team at this time. They can start working on your claim immediately, and they can also help you secure off-site housing during your flood restoration.

Step #4: Call a Flood Restoration Team

One of the most critical steps post-flood is to call a professional flood restoration team. Floods can cause extensive damage, including damage behind your walls and under your floors.

You might be able to clean up a lot of the visible water on your own, but leaving any sort of moisture in those hard-to-reach areas will result in mold, wood rot, and structural problems down the road. Don’t leave your home to chance! Call a trusted flood restoration team right away.

How Flood Restoration Works

When you call a flood restoration company, your first conversation will involve many questions. This is to gauge how extensive your flood damage is, so the arriving team will have the right tools and staff to handle the recovery.

Once they arrive at your home, they will start the water removal and drying process immediately after securing your property. Pumps, wet/dry vacuums, and other industrial cleaners will remove the standing water. Open windows, fans, and dehumidifiers will help with airflow as the water dries up.

Professional teams also have access to equipment like thermal imaging cameras. These cameras can “see” through walls and under floors to locate hot spots of potential moisture. If you have extensive moisture in these areas, your team will have the tools and knowledge to dry it up carefully with minimal construction.

Flood Restoration and Mold

The drying process has to happen quickly to avoid a dreaded mold problem. Mold can grow in as little as 24 hours, so you might wind up dealing with a mold infestation on top of flood damage if you aren’t careful!

Mold can also quickly grow behind walls and in those tricky areas, so even if you don’t see it, it might still be there. A flood restoration team can also test for mold to help ensure a complete recovery.

Flood Restoration and Repairs

Once the water is gone and your home is dry, your possessions will be cleaned and sorted. Some items will, unfortunately, have to be discarded. Nonporous items can be cleaned, disinfected, and dried to their pre-loss condition.

Your home will also undergo a restoration if the floodwater damaged structural components like drywall, carpet, and hardwood. The soaked building materials will be removed, and mold-inhibiting products will be used to prevent a future infestation. After that, your property will be rebuilt and restored to its pre-flood condition.

Be sure to keep all of your receipts and contact information during this time for your insurance team and for tax time. Keeping a close record can help save you significant money during the restoration process.

Tips For Preventing Future Floods

While it is impossible to completely prevent house floods, there are some things you can do to reduce your risk and keep your home dry.

To start, you should explore some flood-proofing options for your home, like installing a sump pump. Sump pumps work to pull groundwater away from your home. If you deal with a wet basement on a regular basis, this might be a good route to go.

If your property always has puddles when it rains or if you know that your patio door will leak water every summer, research professional yard grading. Grading your yard to slope down and away from your home helps encourage water to flow in that direction instead of backward into your house.

Know that you know more about what to do if your house floods, you know to call a team like Exit Mold to handle all your flood restoration needs! We will be here to help you recover from the most unfortunate circumstances and we will be there to get you and your home back to normal.

Don’t wait to recover from a house flood. Call Exit Mold at (516) 512-7877 for a quick and thorough flood restoration.

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