| By :
Joe Maldonado
Copyright (c) 2011 Joe Maldonado Water damage is reported by almost every house. There can be several reasons for this. It can be natural calamities like rain, storm, river water, sea water etc. It can also be caused by broken pipes, backed up bathrooms, overflowing sinks, leaked faucets, roof leaks, clogged sewers and more. No matter what be the cause or source of the problem, the bottom line is that water will damage the structure of the property and it can cause health related problems and also, it can cause damage to belongings in the house. It is because of this reason, you must never take water damage lightly. Even if you see a wet patch on your wall, you must ask for professional help so that they can analyze and find out whether actually there is a leak or not. If there is, you need to fix the problem then and there before it spreads. Here are 8 simple steps which can help you with water damage clean up: 1. - The very first step as in any work is to assess properly. You need to assess the amount of damage that has been caused by the water. If the damage is significantly high or if you cannot assess the damage properly, you need to behave rationally and call for professional help. Check your home insurance because most of the insurers cover the damage caused by water and the professional company that you hire can directly charge the insurer instead of billing you. 2. - Just in case the damage is not too big and if you thing that you can handle the same on your own, you need to make sure that you turn off the electricity supply before you try cleaning the mess. 3. - Pull out every item from the water including the furniture and let them dry in a proper place. Once they are dry, you will have to analyze the same and find out whether you can use those objects again or they need to be discarded. 4. - Water can become stagnant in the room. It is therefore necessary to take the water out of the room. You can either use a pump or you can use a vacuum which can suck water. Make sure that all the water is taken out including the water which has been absorbed by the carpets and rugs. 5. - Once the water is removed, you will have to proceed with treating the floor. In case the floor is carpeted, take the carpet out and let it dry in open air and plenty of sunlight. If you used padding for your carpets, you will have to throw them and get the new ones for laying down the carpet. However, make sure that you use the padding only when the room has dried up properly. 6. - Remove the dry walls or baseboards which have gaps. Make sure that you disinfect the room thoroughly by using proper agents and then open all the doors and windows of the room to allow proper ventilation and also set the dehumidifiers so that all the dampness can be removed from the air. 7. - Spray the entire area with some kind of mold preventing agent. These chemicals or agents can be found in local stores. Remember that molds will take only 48 hours to appear and hence, you need to use the spray before that. 8. - Finally, you need to remember that it can take 2-3 days for the room to completely dry out and this generally depends on the amount of water that was present in room. Start putting things back in the room only if you are confident that the room is thoroughly dry.
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