After the Flooding
If your home has suffered water damage from a flood, whether it’s a typical flood caused by heavy rain or something else like burst pipes or an overflowing dishwasher or washing machine, the cleanup process can be extensive. The Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) sets standards for restoration companies such as Choice Property Restoration to follow as well as provides helpful tips to homeowners who have suffered this tragedy.
We at Choice Property Restoration would like to share these tips as well as tell you some of the flood cleanup and restoration services we provide:
● use caution when entering your home
The most important thing to do if you have standing water in your home is to turn off all electrical power.
● protect yourself
Wear a vapor respirator, rubber gloves, eye protection, and protective clothing. Open windows in the affected areas for ventilation; you can even place a fan in a window to help ventilation. Work towards the fan while you are cleaning to keep from cross contamination.
● know what to throw away
Anything porous that absorbs any of the flood-contaminated water should be thrown away. What should be thrown away includes drywall, carpets and pads, mattresses, pillows, box springs, and particle board. This prevents mold growth. Wet clothing and many household fabrics may be salvageable, as long as you soak them in a washing machine for 10 minutes in detergent and hot water.
● open pockets of saturation
Part of the drying out process Choice Property Restoration can assist you with, the water line should be located and measured 15-20 inches above, and everything below that should be discarded. Base molding should be removed, along with portions of damaged walls and wet insulation. All flooring should be removed to get to the pockets of saturation underneath to clean, sanitize, and dry.
● clean aggressively
Another step we at Choice Property Restoration can do for you as a pressure washer is needed to thoroughly clean all salvageable materials in the house. After everything is cleaned, a strong disinfectant is liberally applied. With these sorts of chemicals being used, we recommend strongly you call a professional like the technicians at Choice Property Restoration.
● prevent mold growth
Mold only takes a few days to appear, so this step is very important. Mold grows quickly in a damp environment with temperatures between 68 and 86 degrees. Keep air flowing, and try to maintain moderate temperatures.
● dry out before rebuilding
You must wait until all moisture content falls below 16 percent before rebuilding, and this is where Choice Property Restoration comes in to use the latest technology and equipment to properly dry out your home, no matter the size of the area of the water damage. We use everything from dehumidifiers to fans to desiccants to wall injection systems to completely dry out areas that have been flooded by water.
If you have suffered a flood or any sort of appliance malfunction that has caused standing water in your home, do not hesitate to contact Choice Property Restoration as soon as possible to have our technicians come out to fix the problem quickly.