Things to Avoid If Your Property Has Water Damage
Whenever your home or business experiences some type of water damage there are things you should do and things you should NOT do. We have a whole series of articles related to the things you should do when your property has water damage. These messages will cover things that you should avoid doing.
Water Damage and Electrical Concerns
It goes without saying that water and electricity don’t mix. You’re already calling us for water damage, don’t end up calling us for fire damage, too!
- Don’t use a vacuum cleaner to suck up water – This one might seem obvious, but we’ve arrived on site where the residents were trying to use their Dyson to suck up water. These vacuums are not designed to handle water. Best case scenario, the vacuum is ruined. Worst case scenario, you now have fire damage to go along with the water damage. Of course, there would be water readily available to put out the fire, I suppose… Shop-vac (wet vac) only for water removal.
- Cords in the water – If you are going to use a shop-vac to extract water don’t let the electrical cord sit in the water. If there are other cords (lamps, tv, computer, ect) in the water don’t touch them, go to your breaker box and turn off power to that area of the property.
- Electrical appliances – Avoid using electric appliances in water damaged areas. If the water loss occurred in plumbing behind a wall or came from above, avoid touching or using any outlets/appliances in the area.
Climate Control During Water Damage Events
Environmental conditions and climate control are a major factor during the water damage restoration process.
- Don’t turn up the heat – Seems backwards, right? After all, when we put clothes in the dryer there is often heat involved. True, but dryers also exhaust the moisture outdoors. While heat can sometimes be a useful tool when drying a structure, it should be implemented by a restoration professional. As a general rule, mold and other forms of microbial growth prefer hot, wet environments. Instead, turn on your A/C unit until help arrives.
- Doors and windows – This one can be tricky. Controlling the humidity within a wet structure is crucial to an effective dry-out. Without being too much of a “science geek”, it is important to know that high-pressure always goes to low-pressure (high humidity goes to low humidity areas). Depending on where you live, the relative humidity (RH) outside will differ. For example, Houston is going to be pretty humid whereas Phoenix will generally be very low. Restoration companies have devices that can measure RH. Wait for them to arrive before determining if the doors and windows should be opened. The last thing you want is to add more humidity to the water damage you already have.
DON’T WAIT!
The most important thing to avoid when your home or business experiences water damage is waiting to act. DON’T WAIT!
Did you know that according to the EPA, microbial growth can occur within 24-48 hours of a water loss? It could be days or weeks before you see mold colonize on your walls but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
Sometimes you’re out of town and can’t avoid waiting. However, We’ve seen plenty of situations where someone experienced some type of water damage or flooding and waited to do anything about it. Sometimes folks think the structure will dry on its own (I talk about this in detail on other posts). Other times they think they have to wait on their insurance company to come out. You don’t! In fact, most policies require the policy holder to mitigate immediately in order to receive coverage for the loss.
Regardless of the reason for waiting, it is never advised. Aside from the potential microbial growth other types of secondary damage can occur; wood rot, damaged furniture, damaged cabinets, or irreversible damage to floors and personal belongings.
The moral of the story is don’t wait to take action. Call Rewind Restoration right away and let us prevent a bad situation from getting worse.