How to Clean Up Your Residence After a Water Damage

Cleaning up water damage in your residence can be a shocking and overwhelming experience. With water, comes mud and dirt that is often hidden from view until the water has been removed. To prevent further damage to your home, it's important to call water damage professionals as soon as possible. This blog post will provide you with a few tips for cleaning up water damage in your home or office so that you can get back to living life worry-free!

Make sure the power is off and there are no sparks

Make sure the breaker switch is off. All appliances should be unplugged. Unfinished jobs like plastering, painting, or using an electric drill should also cease at this time. Turn off the gas line to main appliances (and any other gas equipment in the vicinity) and open all windows for ventilation. Check that nothing is lit with matches before beginning the cleanup process, it's best to be safe than sorry.

Remove as much water as possible from your home by mopping, dumping buckets of water, or using a wet/dry vacuum

The first step is to stop the water flow that caused the buildup. Then, pour buckets of water in a well-ventilated area outside the home, preferably on the soil you don't need for gardening later. Next, hose out or spray down any remaining standing water by scrubbing it up with soap and a stiff brush to reduce the amount of residue left behind. Finally, use an electrical appliances safe wet/dry vacuum if possible to suck up excess moisture or vacuum it into a dry container if you have one. Don't forget to line the dirty container somewhere outdoors before emptying its contents!

Clean up any standing water with soap and paper towels

The main reason it is important to clean up standing water is because the presence of bacteria in the water will lead to an increased risk of suffering from dry rot. Water also doesn't just contain nutrients, but can be food for dust mites that are not something you want living in your home. If leftover standing water has any dry matter or silt content, then it should be picked up with paper towels rather than a vacuum cleaner. 

Use fans to dry out carpeting and other surfaces 

When water damage occurs, use fans to dry out carpets and other surfaces in your house. Water can release chemicals, especially on hardwood floors. Fans will speed up the drying process during the initial phase of wetting. After this, turn off air conditioners or open windows to circulate air. If using a fan, try not to use it on surfaces that are already wet so it does not spread more moisture over them.

Get rid of anything that has been soaked in dirty water - this includes clothes, shoes, bedding, furniture, etc 

When dirty water soaks into an object, it's almost always best to discard it because dirt on linen persists for days. Dirty water also contains fungi, molds, and bacteria that are not visible while they grow on your surface...they can't be seen but still cling to your textiles waiting for moisture... Once the sun heats up or you use a dryer, this microscopic dirt remains clumped together in places where fibers are dense or have broken down over time causing mildew rashes when skin touches these areas. 

Call a professional for more help if you have any doubts about what to do next

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you have any doubts about what to do next after being confronted with water damage, please call up a professional to help you with the remaining cleanup process. The sooner they are called, the better because it will be easier for them to detect and fix any structural problems before they become irreversible. Water will always want to flow downward unless acted upon by an outside force so if there is even one foot of headroom within your basement or crawl space area, ask the professionals on how they would go about drying correctly as those areas can typically take 3-6 months before dry enough without further intervention.