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Water damage is one of the worst things that can happen to your home. Not only does it ruin personal belongings, but it also ruins structural materials like drywall and wood flooring. If you’re wondering how to protect your home from water damage, then read on for some useful tips!
1. Create A Flood Plan
Not all floods are going to happen at once, so you should have a plan for what happens if water starts seeping into your home. However, even if you reside in an area where flooding never occurs, there is the potential for flash flooding; you should still come up with an evacuation plan.
2. Get A Water Damage Mitigation Company
The longer you wait to get help after a flood, the more likely it is that water damage will spread throughout your home before you’re able to stop it. If you wait too long, mould will start to develop in your home, and that can cause a lot of serious health problems for you and your family. For this reason, it is important to get a water mitigation company in as soon as possible when you notice water damage in your home.
3. Use A Dehumidifier
Humidity is one of the biggest problems when it comes to water damage. Even if you clean up all the obvious sources of water, humidity can still remain in your home and cause more problems later down the road. A dehumidifier helps reduce that humidity so that mould does not have a chance to develop.
4. Clean Up
Do not wait to clean up after your home has been damaged by water. The longer you let the water sit in your home, the more likely it is that mould will start to grow. In addition, if you have a lot of porous materials, then it is even more important that you clean up as soon as possible. Porous material can easily absorb water and mould, which will make it harder to clean later on.
5. Clean All Affected Surfaces
One of the biggest problems with water damage is that you don’t know where the water has seeped into your floors or walls. Therefore, if you try to clean up without knowing where the water has gone, you could easily spread it to surfaces that are easier to clean. However, if you use a bleach solution on all affected surfaces, then you will know exactly where the water is and can more easily remove it completely.
6. Use Fans Or Dehumidifiers For 48 Hours After Cleanup
Even after you clean up the water damage in your home, you need to make sure that you dry everything completely. If you do not, then mould can still develop and spread through your home. Fans and dehumidifiers help speed up the drying process so that all affected areas are dried out completely.
7. Measure The Humidity In Your Home
If you did not already get a dehumidifier after water damage, then doing this step is the next best thing. Measuring the humidity levels in your home will give you an idea of where all of the water might have been and how to proceed with drying out your home.
8. Make Sure Your Insurance Is Up To Date
Although most insurance companies will cover water damage, make sure you tell them about a problem before it gets worse. If they do not know there is a potential for water damage, then they might put your claim on hold. Therefore, if mould starts to grow because you didn’t get help from a water mitigation company in time or you don’t dry everything completely, your insurance company might deny the claim even if there was water damage in the first place.
9. Avoid Repainting Porous Surfaces Until They Are Completely Dry
It is best to avoid repainting any porous surfaces until they are completely dry and free of moisture. If you paint before this step, then it is likely that your paint will peel and bubble as moisture is drawn back up from the porous surfaces. Consider bathroom wall cladding instead of paint to protect the structure of your building.
10. Contact A Water Damage Mitigation Company If You Uncover More Than 60 cm Of Standing Water
This step only applies if you find more than 60 cm of standing water in your home. Standing water can hide mould, which can cause serious health problems if you wait too long to remove it. For this reason, it is important that you contact a water mitigation company as soon as possible after the initial cleanup if more than 60 cm of standing water remains in your home.
There You Have It
Things fall apart if you don’t maintain them, but by following these steps you would be more than prepared for any possible water leaks in your home.