Water Damage Cleanup: Do’s and Don’ts

water damage cleanup cincinnati, water damage restoration cincinnati, water damage repair cincinnatiFlooding can occur for a variety of reasons in your home, and often those reasons are completely out of your control. Follow this guide immediately after you have experienced a flood in your home or business to regain control and set your path on the road to water damage cleanup. It’s imperative to follow these steps as soon as possible in order to minimize water damages and prevent further cleanup damages from occurring. 

Water Damage Cleanup In Cincinnati 

Do: turn off the electricity to your home. This will help to eliminate the risk of sending electrical currents into the water from exposed wiring or appliances that may still be plugged into the wall. You will also want to turn off any HVAC systems and gas lines. You may not think so, but flooding in your home can quickly lead to a fire in your home under the right circumstances. 

Do: call a reputable restoration company that can respond quickly. For those in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, Icon Property Rescue can respond in less than an hour, guaranteed. It’s important to only consider using a licensed professional restoration company; hiring an unqualified company or attempting to restore your home on your own can lead to more damages and long term health hazards. 

Do: start ventilating the area as soon as possible. This can be done by opening windows and doors to the area, turning on fans, and using a dehumidifier. Don’t fret if you don’t have any of these available to use. The water damage cleanup company you hire will bring in commercial fans and dehumidifiers when they begin their work on your home. 

Don’t: enter rooms that have any obvious structural damage or sagging ceilings from retained water. This can be environmentally hazardous and is better left to professionals that can assess the situation. Your water damage cleanup professionals will be able to determine if the areas needs to be reinforced before they can safely enter.

Don’t: enter rooms or handle objects that have been involved in sewage water flooding and cleanup damages. There are two types of sewage water that can flood your home: grey water and black water. Grey water is the water that is the after product produced by things in your home such as your sink, shower, and dishwater. Black water is the after product produced from water that flushes your toilets. This water is especially hazardous as it is mixed with human waste and can contain a multitude of dangerous bacteria, viruses and funguses. If you suspect that the flooding that has occurred in your home is from sewage water, leave this area immediately and do not enter it until the water damage cleanup professionals like those at Icon Property Rescue have fully restored the area. 

Don’t: attempt to “DIY” your home cleanup and restoration. It’s just water, It will dry, right? Wrong. As mentioned above, home flooding can come with a range of immediate and long term health hazards if not handled by experienced water damage cleanup professionals. You might think that you are able to simply dry the area out, but insufficiently restoring an area can lead to hazards such as mold growth and rotting. This can not only cost you large amounts of money in the future to repair, but also puts the health of you and your loved ones at risk.