In some countries and some states in the United States, water damage in homes is very common. Whether it is through flooding or heavy rain, it happens and there really is no way to prevent that. It is a natural and powerful force that cannot be stopped. In these moments, the only thing a person can do is just save the most valuable items and wait for the flooding to pass or the rain to stop. Once it has stopped, it is time to prepare yourself for the recovery process.
Although, I think it is also worth mentioning that water damage can happen from a burst pipe or even a small leak.
Unfortunately, the recovery process from home water damage is never easy. It is complicated, it is expensive and frustrating. And it makes sense. Who would not be frustrated after their home has been damaged or ruined?
However, there really is no point to be mad, annoyed, or frustrated. In these moments, it is best to be calm, collected, and to start planning how you are going to recover from such a situation. To help you with that plan, I decided to write this guide for 2024. I hope that this article will be of use too many of you.
Do it yourself
Get rid of the water
The first thing you will have to do is to ensure that all of the water inside of your home is brought outside. In other words, this liquid needs to be removed immediately. The longer it stays inside, the more damage will be caused to the structural integrity of the building, the floors, the walls, and most of your furniture. If you act quickly, you may even avoid any kind of damage.
However, the process of removing such a large amount of liquid is not easy. There are several ways you can do this, although that will depend on the level of water inside. If the level is too high, you will probably need a submersible pump that will shoot out the liquid to the outside. Once things start to clear up, your next best option is a mop in a broom.
Slowly start brushing in mopping the water to the outside. Keep in mind, the mop will absorb while a broom can push it away more efficiently. This is why I recommend using a broom at first and then a mop to absorb all the remaining liquid.
Once that is all done, it is time to take the next step.
Start the drying process
Once you are done mopping all of the remaining water, everything will still be very wet. Everything that is soaked, should be taken out outside to dry under the sun. If there is still a lot of rain, I suggest putting furniture and other important items under some kind of tarp to keep it dry. If you can, try to build some kind of platform so the furniture can be on the higher ground instead of touching the ground.
After removing everything from the interior, your next step is to try and dry out all the remaining things that cannot be removed. At first, to achieve that it might seem impossible, but do not worry, with enough time, everything will start to dry out.
The best way to do that is by opening up all the doors and windows in your home. You want as much air circulating throughout their rooms as possible. Keep in mind, this might not be enough which means you might have to buy several industrial fans to keep the air circulating. The more air circulation, the faster the drying process will be.
Hire professionals
If all of this seems too complicated and too difficult, it is understandable. You have been put in a tight spot and simply do not have the time to deal with a problem of this size by yourself. This is one of the reasons that a lot of people just hire professionals to do this for them.
Of course, this service will cost you. It will not be free and it will not be inexpensive, but they will manage to save you a lot of money. Everything you can do for this situation, they will do it much more efficiently. Experts for water damage will manage to save most of your furniture and items. They will do all the hard work for you as suggested by waterdamagekansas.com.
Although, there is no guarantee on how much of your home they will be able to say. It all depends on the amount of flooding and your reaction time. The sooner you call them, the better.
Ask your neighbors for help
Most of the time, if there is extreme flooding, everyone in the neighborhood will have water damage. However, there are always some houses that have been built on a better location, the higher ground or are better equipped against the outside elements. Fortunately for those people, they will not experience any kind of serious water damage.
Fortunately for you, these people may be able to assist you and help you recover from the damage of the flooding. Basically, an extra pair of hands is always helpful. What might take you several days to do, with the help of someone else, you might be able to do it in just a few hours.
After helping you, do not forget to say thank you.
Ask your friends for help
For those that do not have any neighbors nearby or anyone willing to help, you should consider calling up close friends and family members to assist you. In such dire situations, I am sure that many of your friends will come running to help you recover from this horrible damage.
With enough assistance, you will be able to get out of this sticky situation in a short amount of time.
As you can see, recovering from water damage is not easy, especially if you plan on fixing everything yourself. But, with the help of others, the fixing can get much easier and faster.
