Midwinter vacations are a great way to beat cabin fever, but nothing ruins that happiness faster than coming home to a wading pool in your house. It’s vital to start the cleanup as quickly as possible to limit the damage and prevent dangerous mold. These tips from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will help keep the damage to a minimum.

What to Do in case of Flood Damage

1. If any wiring is wet or moldy, turn off the main power and don’t turn it back on until it’s been checked by an electrician.

2. Open the windows to let in fresh air and use fans and dehumidifiers to dry and remove moisture.

The effects of flood damage in a carpet.

3. If mold has already started to grow, don’t use fans; they’ll spread it.

4. If any ductwork for the central heating/air came into contact with water, don’t use them until they’ve been checked by a professional.

5. Remove wet items like furniture, clothes, and toys, and throw away wet or moldy carpet. Other items can be cleaned and disinfected.

6. Food products that came into contact with floodwater should be thrown away unless they were stored in watertight containers.

7. Remove wet or contaminated materials like ceiling tiles, drywall, and wood by-products.

8. If drywall is soaked, remove to a foot above the watermark and discard. Drain water out of the walls by removing the baseboards and drilling holes near the floor. Panel-type walls can be drained by pulling the bottom edge out from the studs. Be sure to check the interior of the wall for hidden mold. Remove all wet insulation and discard all but rigid insulation. Rigid insulation can be reinstalled after disinfecting and drying.

Call a Flood Damage Restoration Company

If your home or business falls victim to a flood, call the certified technicians at RestorationMaster. They’re on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week so they can immediately respond and limit the damage. Their technicians can clean up the aftermath of burst pipes and other water related emergencies quickly before hazardous mold and mildew set in.  They will also assess and document the damage before extracting the water with techniques best suited to the situation.

About Vince Sandri

Vince Sandri is a content writer and blogger with more than 12 years of experience. His expertise is in creating content related to disaster restoration, including information about preventing and reacting to natural disasters like flooding, water damage, fire and smoke damage, mold growth, storm damage and more.
Vince has been the main contributor to RestorationMasterFinder.com since 2014. Over that time, he has written numerous service pages and blogs for disaster restoration providers featured on RestorationMasterFinder.com. Vince has done extensive research and covered a wide range of topics relating to disaster restoration to help homeowners, business owners, and property managers better protect their property. He understands the problems that disasters like flooding, fire, smoke, and mold can cause as well as the best ways to respond to these issues to limit the damage.
Vince completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Aurora University and his master’s degree at DePaul University. He has been writing SEO website pages, blogs, and press releases since 2012. Vince is also a musician and can be seen playing in the Chicago, IL area.