Water damage is no laughing matter. When your home has any level of water damage due to flooding, rain, or just about any type of water issue, you’ll want to act immediately. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself dealing with a variety of problems that could cost a lot of fixes. Water damage can lead to mold and other problems that have no “simple” fix. It’s for that reason that the following five tips for cleaning are so critical. These are tips for cleaning your home after water damage and can help you reverse the issues that manifest, fast.
Disengage All Electrical Elements
The first significant thing that you need to do is look at turning off the power to your home. Look for the circuit breakers and shut things down. Once you’ve done that, go to your home and pull the plug on anything that is plugged in. First, you need to have the power off, then make sure that things are 100% off, and pull the plug around outlets. Do not just start unplugging things, first make sure you turn off your car.
Take Out All Rugs and Carpeting Not Nailed Down
If you have rugs throughout your home, runners, and anything that is not nailed down, you should take them out and away from your home. In many instances, you can get your rugs and carpeting cleaned and free of water damage. Carpeting can be taken care of and could turn out ok. Carpeting in a home that has been flooded will not be salvageable, as it most likely will have underpadding that is soaked and will not be saved.
Eliminate All Water
If you don’t have electricity on, and you do not utilize a water pump to get water out, you’ll need to roll up your sleeves. Your goal is to get all water and wetness left over out of your home. To start this, open all windows and doors, and start utilizing simple tools. Buckets, shop towels, and anything that can soak up water should be utilized. While some people will recommend shop vacs, it’s imperative to avoid getting plugs wet and utilizing electricity when doing this project. It’s best to avoid electrical components, and instead, focus on manually soaking up and removing water.
Dry Any Areas You Can
In conjunction with eliminating water, you will want to look into drying any areas that you can. Open up windows, and gain access to fans that can help with blowing areas dry. Your goal here is to ensure that air is circulating throughout the home. This step should not be done before you focus on those above first. Since this requires electricity, you may need to rent or buy a generator to help you with fueling fans and other equipment to help with drying. Before you can move on, you’ll want to ensure that you attempt to dry all areas, to see what is salvageable overall.
Utilize Disinfectant Solutions
Over time, you’ll find that your home will, in fact, be dry. Once dry, you’ll want to consider utilizing a disinfectant agent, spray, or detergent to clean. Clean all surfaces, and anything that is not upholstered. You want to make sure to go through every area of the home with this so that you can clean out any germs, bacteria, and leftover toxicity that can come with water damage.
Fight Against Mold
One of the biggest things to remember about cleaning out water damage is in regards to fighting mold. You will need to prevent mold by first disinfecting the best you can. Then, you’ll want to seek out consortium, which helps eliminate mold growth and spores. This is a spray solution that you can apply to upholstery, flooring, and throughout your home. Once you put it in place, it needs 24 hours to dry, but the finished result is a clean, mold-free surface. You can find this at your local hardware store and can work towards reversing water damage.
Recycle If You Can (Be Responsible With Garbage)
The last major tip to consider when cleaning your home after water damage is in regards to your things. You’ll want to separate things properly, instead of throwing them all in the dumpster. Separate things by usefulness, ability to be salvaged, and damaged beyond repair. For those things that you can recycle, contact a local agency to help pick these things up. For items like televisions, computers, and other electronics, locate a recycling center so that the toxic elements in them don’t hit the landfills of your community. With the above steps, you can gain peace of mind after water infiltrates your home. Whether it’s a flood, pipe burst, or any other issue, you can clean up and get things back in order if you just following the tips mentioned above.
IPC Restoration and Renovation Contractors – Edmonton
AB
(780) 880-6079
www.ipcrenocrew.ca/
