So Your Home Is Flooded: What’s Next? Picture this scene. You walk into your home after a long day at work. Before hitting the sofa and relaxing for a few minutes, you walk downstairs to get something to drink. It is at that point you realize that a pipe burst and your basement is submerged in several inches of water. What do you do next? Below are four steps that we at Mammoth Restoration in Columbus recommend you take if you ever find yourself in such a situation.
Consider Safety Above All Else Your safety is obviously much more important than the well-being of your home. Some common safety hazards to consider are electric shock from your electrical systems being damaged, contaminated water, and structural damage to your home. If you have any concern that your safety could be compromised by any of the steps mentioned below, play it safe and avoid the risk. After all, that is what professional cleaning and restoration companies are for. Leave the dirty, dangerous parts of the cleanup to us at Mammoth Restoration in Columbus.
Stop The Flow Of Water Your very first act upon discovering a flood is stopping the flow of water as quickly as possible (unless it is unsafe to do so). If it a problem with your pipes (like in the example above) the best way to do this is to locate your water shut off valve and shut off the water flow in your home.
Removing The Water Once the flow of water has been stopped, your next priority is to remove the floodwater from your home. One great way to do this, especially if the flooding is in the basement, is through the use of a sump pump. Sump pumps are simple tools that can be bought for under $200. You use them by hooking them up in your basement and turning them on in the event of a flood. A quality sump pump will go a long way towards removing floodwater from your home.
Dry Out Remaining Moisture Removing the standing floodwater from your home will do little good unless you remove the remaining moisture as well. There are many different ways that you can do this. Three of the best are opening windows and doors, using fans, and using dehumidifiers. Opening your doors and windows is the most simple way to do this. Simply open all the doors and windows that you can, this will increase the natural air circulation throughout your home and speed up the drying process. Fans are another way to increase air circulation in your home. Any fans you have that can be safely plugged in should be used in the most affected areas to speed up the drying process. Last, dehumidifiers are another valuable means of drying out the remaining moisture from a flood. The sooner the drying process happens, the less likely you are to suffer from mold damage.