When your home is damaged by water, you need to make sure that you approach and treat the water a specific way. It takes a coordinated approach to be able to deal with water damage to your home.

Turn off the Power

When you find that a part of your house has flooded, the very first thing that you need to do is turn off power to that part of your home. Electricity and water do not mix and can make a deadly combination. You don't want to get anywhere near the water while the electricity is still on. Locate your breaker box and turn off the power to those specific breakers. If you can't get to the breaker box, or your entire house is flooded, call your electrical company and see if they can help you turn off the power to your home until it is determined it is safe to restore the power to your house.

Stop the Water

Next, you are going to want to stop the water if at all possible. For example, if someone left the tub running and that is what flooded your home, go in and turn off the tub. Turn off whatever water source is causing the flooded or fix any damaged or broken pipe that is causing the flooding.

If the water is not something you can stop, such as a flood from outside, work to get the water out of your home once it starts to recede. You may be able to use a sump pump, for example, to pump water out of your basement. A wet/dry shop vacuum is also a great tool for removing water from your home.

Get Rid of Porous Material First

After you get the water out, you are going to need to start addressing the mess that is left behind. The first thing you should do is get rid of porous material, especially if it was a natural flood or a sewer based flood. Porous material can be really difficult to clean and disinfect due to the nature of the material. Porous materials can also take a long time to dry out, leading to mold and mildew. You can try to save porous materials, such as upholstery and carpet, or you can just pull them out and get rid of them.

Disinfect Everything

Finally, you need to disinfect anything that came into contact with the water. You don't know what germs were being carried in the water, so you want to make sure that you clean everything as well as you can.

When dealing with water damage in your home, turn off the electricity to the area that has been damaged by water. Do what you can to stop and remove the water from the affected area. Get rid of all porous material, as it is hard to salvage that type of material. Finally, make sure that you disinfect all surfaces the water could have come in contact with. Contact a service, like A Nicer Reflection Cleaning & Restoration Inc, for more help.

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