Monsoon is here and apart from humidity excess water inside of your home can be a big problem. Not only can it be the cause of a lot of damage, but it can also have potential health risks. Some of your most prized possessions can become damaged, and more often than not, become unusable.
It’s essential to act quickly, as it’s one of the ways you make sure to minimize damages. You should never ignore excess water when it’s in an unwanted place. Even if the room has only an inch of water mold can easily start to build up. Mold is a serious problem which can ruin a lot of your home furnishings, but also cause major health risks.
If the quality of air is poor in your house, then respiratory problems can occur, sometimes leading to severe illnesses. You should make sure that the air in your home in clean, making it a safe and healthy place to live.
No matter where you live in the world, you can be sure that you’ll experience heavy rainfall at some point in the year. Certain homes are situated in areas that are prone to flooding, meaning that you have to be ready all throughout the day.
I will show you how to be one step ahead of any flooding and excess water that may affect your home.
Speed is essential
It’s vital to get any of your possessions out of the affected area if you want any chance at saving them. The first thing you should aim to move is any electronic items. Water and electricity doesn’t mix, so you don’t want to make an environment that is more unsafe that it already is.
If the water ends up rising above any of your electrical outlets, turn off your power. This doesn’t only stop the situation getting more dangerous, but it also stops your electrical system from overloading. When an electrical system overloads, it can be an expensive thing to fix.
Move any furniture to an area that isn’t affected by the water. If it’s possible, try and pull up any carpet. If you dry it out in a good space of time it’s possible to clean and disinfect the carpet. There is a chance that it will shrink, but you could still use it as a rug.
Remove the water
The longer that water sits about, the more it becomes a hazard. You should try to remove it as soon as possible so that the overall damage is limited. There are different ways to remove water which may be useful depending on what your situation is.
If you don’t have access to power, or there is a potential threat of loose wires, the old fashioned ways work best. You’ll need to use old towels, mops and buckets to soak up the majority of the water. You can simply throw the excess water onto your lawn or down a drain (as long as it isn’t blocked).
If the power is still on then you can use a wet or dry vacuum, although make sure it’s plugged into an outlet that is as far away from the water as possible. Never use an extension cord, as in this situation they can easily short circuit, producing an electric shock.
It’s important to assess the situation and react accordingly. If there’s a large amount of water, a vacuum isn’t going to be suitable. Instead, look at using a pump. This will be able to get rid of all of the water in a good space of time.
Dry the area
Once you have cleaned up all of the water, try and use a fan as well as dehumidifier to dry the area out. As long as it isn’t raining, make sure to leave windows open. This creates good air circulation, providing a faster drying process.
It’s essential to dry out any affected areas as soon as possible. If your basement has a drywall, it’s more than likely that you’ll have to cut away any of the areas that have had contact with water. If you don’t then it will simply crumble away, and drywall is a material that mold with thrive on.
Make the area safe again
After the area is completely dried out then it needs disinfecting. This shouldn’t be done until everything in the area is dry, including walls, insulation and everything else.
Make sure to use a powerful disinfectant that will get rid of the bacteria that may have come through the water. When choosing a disinfectant, make sure it’s nontoxic without sacrificing on power.
Disinfect all of the affected areas including the walls, wood and furniture that have been in the water. Bacteria can help mold to grow, so this is an important process.
Disposing of damaged items
It’s understandable that you may simply want to collect all of your broken items and throw them into one bin, but this isn’t something you should do. Spend the time to organise all of your damaged items into specific piles, and try to recycle as much as possible.
If others in your area have been affected by flooding it’s more than likely that your local landfill site will be busy anyway, so recycling items is a good way to stop the pressure they are undergoing.
What do you think of the blog? Do you think there is anything else that could help in the unfortunate event of water damage? Let us know in the comment section below.
This blog is written by Jennifer Smith, on behalf of Conwy Valley Plumbing, a company that’s an expert in plumbing.
