The Home Improvement Blog

No matter how careful we are, water has a knack for ending up where it’s not supposed to be, and usually at the most inconvenient of times. Whether it is the clogged garbage disposal or a broken valve on the toilet, water damage has a way of ruining our day.

If one of the kids left the bath water running it can be minor or it can be a major headache. It all depends on how long the water went unattended. Hopefully it wasn’t for long and clean up is just a matter of several sopping wet bath towels. Whatever the extent of the flood, the important thing is to get it dry as quickly as possible to avoid other problems such as mold and mildew.

Professionals break water damage into three main categories: Clean, grey and black. Clean has no real contamination and is what happens when the sink overflows. Grey water has some contaminants that can make you sick, but nothing totally disgusting; this is what you get from the backed up garbage disposal. Black water is the really disgusting type and contains solid human and animal waste.

Depending on the type of water you need to clean up, you should be careful to take precautions to protect your health. When dealing with grey or black water it is always a good idea to wear protective clothing and sturdy non-porous gloves.

Walking by a wall after a rainfall and finding a water spot is certainly going to make you wish you hadn’t seen it. But, take heart, it’s a good thing you did, because just think of the consequences if you hadn’t. You might end up with having to replace the entire wall if you weren’t alerted early to take care of the leak and early prevention is worth a pound of cure. Mold and mildew love dark, moist places to fester and they can lead to illness.

If you happen to find a small ocean on your floor don’t walk into the middle of it to turn the faucet off. Turn the other way and go turn off the electricity before fetching your wading boots. Water may have already soaked the electrical lines and you don’t want to take chances.

With any unwanted water, you need to get it dried up as fast as you can. Use a wet-dry vacuum to suck up as much water as you can manage. After you have done that you need to provide a lot of air circulation to dry up the rest. Fans, dehumidifiers and anything that moves air will help. You will probably have to leave them working for at least a day or two.

If you had a lot of standing water you should remove the molding around the bottom of the walls and allow it to dry on its own. Cleaning and disinfecting the wall area and the molding is a good idea to retard the growth of any microorganisms. Make sure the wall is completely dry before placing the molding.

Cleaning, sanitizing and deodorizing the floors and carpet is extremely important. If you do the job well, it’s possible you won’t have to replace your carpet or padding. Getting it all bone dry is essential because mold and mildew love carpet padding.

Don’t forget to check your furniture for damage. Go through the same procedures to remove water and disinfect and deodorize.

With luck and some hard work you won’t have any actual damage because you tackled the leak right away. If that wasn’t possible, you’ll know that you did everything you could to avoid damage. If the problem is very severe it’s probably best to call in some experts as they have all the right equipment for taking care of your home. Hopefully, your homeowners insurance covers water damage and they will take care of everything for you. If you’re not sure, now might be a good time to pull out your policy and check it.

When you are searching for the most professional water damage houston experts available today, you will find them easy and fast! Get rid of water for your flooded basement boston specialists can provide.

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