What to Do in Case of Water Damage Emergencies
Tropical storms, floods, tropical storms, and occasional maintenance issues (i.e., pipe bursts, leaks, sewage backups) – Miami residents are no stranger to water damage emergencies. Local property owners often experience the worst-case scenarios when the weather gets too wet.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean they are always prepared for these situations. Sometimes a short refresher course in tackling water repairs might be necessary. You should also know the importance of collaborating with home restoration experts, whenever possible.
Here’s what you need to do during water damage emergencies:
Safety First: Things to Do ASAP!
Whether you’re dealing with toxic black water from a sewage spill or greywater from a flooded basement, its presence can potentially affect your health and safety. There are several precautionary steps you can take before help arrives.
They are as follows:
- Unplug electronic devices and switch off circuit breakers to shut off power supply during a water damage emergency.
- Locate your shut-off valves and cut down the water supply if you deal with a burst pipe or leak.
- Evacuate your home if there are signs of flooding or the water has flooded all the rooms.
Apart from this, you can remove dry furniture and salvageable items from the flooded area immediately. A thorough cleanup and sanitation process follows the steps mentioned above and protects it from water damage. Seek professional assistance if the water damage looks severe.
How Can Home Restoration Experts Help During a Water Damage Emergency?
Water damage restoration procedures vary from emergency to emergency. For instance, a pipe burst would require specialists to fix the plumbing issue before addressing other areas of concern. In contrast, sewage backup and cleanup services deal with standing black water immediately to limit water damage. Each situation calls for a unique strategy that focuses on procedures that will prevent further damage before any form of restoration begins.
Here’s a tentative action plan for home restoration services in the aftermath of a water emergency:
- Assess and Analyze
Trained technicians conduct a detailed house inspection to assess the situation. It allows them to determine the best course of action. The main goal is to minimize water damage and resolve potential hazards.
- Water Extraction & Drying Out
Specialized water pumps and air blowers remove stagnant water from the flooded area. Once removed, specialists use heavy-duty air-drying equipment to remove all traces of dampness. These steps ensure that water contaminants and the water itself are no longer in contact with your surfaces, furniture, and upholstery.
- Sanitization & Deodorization Treatment
The affected areas get sanitized and disinfected if required. Scrubbing and cleaning these surfaces eliminates bacteria and mold build-up. These spaces get deodorized to remove odors and bad smells. It might be an essential step in cases where you are dealing with smelly sewage backup or soot/smoke damage during a fire and water emergency.
Additionally, these treatments improve air quality, making homes safe and habitable again.
- Water Damage Emergency Repairs
Neglected roof and wall leaks, significant flooding, and prolonged exposure to moisture can cause structural and surface damage. Subsequently, it can lead to discolored surfaces, weakened structures, rotting wood, warping, and other forms of distortion.
Water damage restoration experts will replace, repair, and reconstruct things as they deem necessary.
Apart from this, professionals may inspect the house for mold growth. That’s because damp surfaces and humidity can become ideal breeding grounds for mold and mildew. During mold remediation, specialists conduct tests to identify the mold types and the extent of the infestation before developing a removal strategy. Like water damage emergencies, infected areas might be removed and reconstructed from scratch.
Rest assured, good home restoration experts will keep you in the loop throughout the process. They will ask follow-up questions and often seek permission to alter structural layout and choice of materials before they do something. It ensures that whatever they do doesn’t compromise the integrity and aesthetic appeal of your home.
The Bottom Line
In the end, dealing with severe water damage emergencies can be a challenging and frustrating experience for anyone. Yet, there are ways to recover from the damage if you act quickly and immediately call in home restoration experts. We can assist you by extracting all the standing water, drying out the affected area, and clearing the flooded space. A thorough cleanup and sanitation process follow all this.
We can even replace and restore water-damaged areas of the house if required. In turn, this ensures that your home and flooded property returns to their pre-damaged condition in record time.
911 Restoration of Miami–Help Is Always on the Way
911 Restoration offers a 24-hour water emergency service for Miami residents. Our IICRC certified home restoration experts have years of experience dealing with all types of water damage emergencies. These include sewage backups, roof leaks, flooded basement, water damage after a natural disaster, etc. Trust us to handle everything with great care and attention as we restore your home.
Call us at (305) 280-0755 for all water damage repairs and home restoration services in Miami.
