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Water Damage Solutions

12 Water Damage Solutions and Tips Every Homeowner Should Know

Water damage is something every homeowner wants to avoid. It can lead to an unsafe living environment and the need for costly repairs. These water damage solutions and tips can help you before, during, and after major water damage affects your home or business.

Water Damage Solutions – Call the Professionals Right Away

If there’s water in your home right now, then the first thing you need to do is reach out to a professional water damage restoration company. Every second counts when it comes to water damage, as your home contains many materials that continue to soak up more and more water.

Restoration Operators can be at your home within just 45 minutes, and our team is available 24/7 for water damage emergencies. Calling us right away is the best way to minimize the damage to your home and reduce the overall cost of restoring and repairing that damage.

Don’t waste time trying to determine if you can implement water damage solutions on your own. Trained professionals with specialized equipment can make much faster work of the job and ensure that it’s done right. Putting off making this important call could cost you more than you might think.

Water Damage Solutions – Beware of Electrical Hazards

When your home experiences water damage, one of the most prominent threats is electrocution. While many people might not think of it at first, it’s very clear once you realize the danger. When water enters your home, it can come into contact with outlets and wiring behind your walls.

Anyone who enters standing water in a water damage scenario could be at risk of electrocution. That’s one important reason why you should leave water damage solutions to professionals. They know how to avoid this substantial risk.

If accessible, you should turn off your home’s electrical breakers during a flooding scenario. Without live electricity flowing through your walls, you won’t be at risk of electrocution from the standing water in your home.

Water Damage Solutions – Turn Off Your Water Supply

There are many different causes of water damage. One of the most common is burst pipes or other plumbing issues. In these scenarios, your home will continue to fill with additional water until the supply is turned off.

If you’re dealing with a toilet that has a tank that is overflowing, then you should be able to turn off that water supply with a valve between the wall and the toilet. In other scenarios like a burst pipe, you’ll need to turn off your home’s main water supply valve.

This valve is generally in a utility area, typically very close to the water heater. You may also have a main water supply valve outside of your home, although this is less common in areas like Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, where frozen pipes are a serious concern.

Remove Items From the Affected Area

Water damage affects your home’s walls and floors, but also the items you have in your house. If it’s safe, you should remove items from the affected area quickly to prevent water from soaking in. Furniture, clothing, and other possessions should be removed quickly to prevent further damage.

Most of these items will need to be cleaned and sanitized, and some of them might not be recoverable. In any case, getting them out of the affected area faster increases the chances that damage won’t be permanent.

If the water is continuing to rise or spread, you should consider removing items from adjacent areas to prevent them from becoming damaged in the first place. 

Understand What Kind of Water You’re Dealing With

Not all water damage is the same, and the source of the water in question will greatly affect the health and safety risks and the water damage solutions you’ll need. Know the three categories of water damage beforehand so that you can act accordingly.

Category 1 water damage involves clean water. This is water from your home’s water supply pipes or fixtures. It’s still a major problem but doesn’t contain dangerous contaminants. Rain water or water from snow melt that enters through a roof leak can also be considered category 1.

Category 2 water damage involves greywater, which is dirty water that doesn’t contain human or animal waste but is still potentially contaminated. If you’re having washing machine or dishwasher overflow issues, you’re dealing with category two water damage.

Category 3 water damage involves blackwater that contains human or animal waste. This can include sewage backups and also flooding from outside that can carry pathogens and waste from the ground. It’s important to stay clear of category three water in your home, as it poses an immediate health risk and should only be handled by professionals.

Prevent Mold in the Future

Dealing with the water in your home right now is the top priority, but you also need to think about the future. Effective water damage solutions seek not just to make your home livable right now but to prevent mold growth as time goes on.

Your home has plenty of materials that soak up moisture. When the water drains or is removed from your home, those materials still carry moisture. This can allow mold to grow over the coming weeks and months, eventually creating a major problem.

The mold can spread throughout your home, not just affecting the area where the water damage was. Dealing with mold prevention at the time of the water damage restoration is a much more cost-effective solution than mold remediation for your entire home later on.

Get Rid of Porous Materials

When water damage strikes, there are some things you just can’t save. Drywall that is in direct contact with water simply has to go. The exceptionally porous material absorbs water and will develop mold later on. It also wicks moisture to other areas, but professional drying can deal with that.

Flooring and subflooring are other materials that often have to be replaced in the case of water damage. While there are advanced water damage solutions that can save even hardwood flooring in some cases, serious water damage often means having to replace any affected flooring.

Take Advantage of Professional Drying

Just removing water from your home isn’t enough. Even if the water drains on its own after water damage, you aren’t out of the woods yet. You’re going to need professional drying to remove residual moisture from your home.

A professional water damage solutions company will have the necessary professional drying equipment to remove moisture from structural elements. This greatly reduces the risk of rot and mold in the future, which could drive up your repair costs exponentially.

Thoroughly Disinfect the Area

Sanitization and disinfection are very important steps when dealing with water damage. Even with clean water from a burst pipe, the moisture can allow mold and other contaminants to grow. A professional water damage solutions company can handle this with the proper cleaning and sanitization agents.

This is particularly important when dealing with greywater and blackwater. Your home won’t be safe again until proper sanitization is carried out, as these types of water damage leave behind many harmful contaminants even after the water is removed.

Prevent Water Damage With Maintenance

The best way to deal with water damage is to make sure that it doesn’t happen in the first place. While many cases of water damage are sudden emergencies that you can’t reasonably avoid, others are due to a lack of proper maintenance.

If you’re having plumbing issues, have a professional plumber deal with them. This can prevent backups and burst pipes in the future. Another major cause of water damage is water heater failure, so be sure to keep up with proper inspections and maintenance for your water heater.

Water Damage Solutions – Record Everything for Insurance

During any water damage situation, you want to be sure that you’re going through the insurance claims process properly. One important aspect of this is keeping a detailed record of everything that has been damaged, along with all receipts.

For your insurance claim, you’ll also need a professional water damage inspection to gauge the extent of the damage. Working with professionals can make the insurance claims process go much more smoothly and ensure that you get what you’re owed by your policy.

Put Your Trust in Professional Water Damage Solutions

The best water damage solutions tip that anyone can follow is to always trust the professionals when it comes to water damage. Water damage is a serious situation, with the safety and value of your home on the line. Making the right choice to reach out to professionals for water damage restoration can save you plenty of both time and money in this challenging situation.

Restoration Operators is the top choice for water damage restoration. Our professional technicians are highly trained and experienced in delivering the best results in any water damage situation. We have the water extraction, drying, and cleaning technology to minimize damage as much as possible and can also provide quality reconstruction services. Just contact us today to have our experts onsite in just 45 minutes, any time, day or night.

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What our clients say
5/5

What an amazing response! I had a great experience with Restoration Operators – Connecticut! I called them immediately after my house flooded and they came out within 45 min. It’s a great choice!

Joe Rios

Amazing job. Our basement flooded twice
and the did outstanding work drying it out
quickly. Very responsive and were very easy
to work with.

Jack Thomas

I cannot express how grateful I am for the amazing service provided by this sewage cleanup company. They arrived promptly and efficiently cleaned up the mess left by a broken sewer line. 

Wayne Hunter

Restoration Operators did an awesome job for us fixing water damage! We would not hesitate to recommend them to friends and to use this company again if the need arises.

Lindy Nelson

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