Preparing for a Family Gathering

A flooded home can be a huge headache for homeowners and waiting to restore your floors and walls can prove to be a serious waste of both time and money. That's why you should always be prepared in the event of water damage (no matter how minor) to deal with it as quickly as possible. Take a look below at some of the most helpful tips to keep in mind in case of water damage, and you'll have your home looking like new before you know it with proper water damage restoration.

Getting Rid of Standing Water

The first thing you'll want to do after you remove all of your valuables from the damaged area is begin to pump out all of the standing water. The longer you let the water remain in your house, the more severe the damage becomes. If the water is only at a depth of a few inches, then you can use a shop vacuum to remove the water fairly quickly. If, on the other hand, you find yourself with a couple of feet of standing water, then you'll need to buy a water pump and put it at the lowest possible point in the room to maintain an active and efficient flow.

Decreasing Humidity

Even after all of the water has been removed from the room, the floor and walls will still contain a great deal of moisture. To counteract this, buy an industrial dehumidifier and set it in a corner of the room -- it will not only remove a great deal of the moisture, but it will also prevent mold from growing. You can also open the windows (assuming the weather itself isn't humid) to air out the room and dry it out further.

Contacting Insurance

In the event of water damage, your focus will naturally be on making sure that the damage is kept to a minimum. But in the midst of the chaos, it is easy to forget that your insurance company should be notified as soon as possible. This is primarily because you need to have an agent out to look at the damage and estimate the cost of the damage, but also because insurance companies will cover damage to different extents. Waiting too long to contact your insurer could mean missing out on a claim entirely. Never wait more than 24 hours to contact your insurance company once you've noticed that the damage has developed.