What To Do After Discovering Water Damage In Your Charleston Home

Discovering water damage in your home can be extremely stressful, especially when you have never dealt with it before. The question of what to do first to minimize the damage could be the most overwhelming, as it could seem that the laundry list of things that needs to be done is endless. However, it’s first important to understand that you are not alone, and this is one of the most common causes of damage in a home. According to statistics, water damage affects around 14,000 people every day in the U.S. alone. Many people have gone through water damage that you are experiencing; now to help you with the question of “what now?”

Water Damage Restoration – Charleston

The following is a list of important steps to take when you are experiencing water damage. In order to minimize the amount of damage your home takes and to keep yourself and others safe, follow the checklist accordingly.

Call Your Insurance Company

When experiencing any sort of damage, it’s vital to get in contact with your insurance provider to notify them of what happened. If your provider covers flood damage, the company will send an adjuster to look at and assess the damage that has been inflicted on your home to determine if it is a covered loss.

Be sure to document and take pictures of all the valuables in your home before, during, and after the cleanup. This will assist the insurance company in determining the outcome of coverage for the damage.

Protect Yourself And Others

It is critical that you take precautions when dealing with water damage to protect yourself and others. Water is a huge conductor of electricity, and there is a likelihood that floods can become charged. Because of that, avoid going near wet areas until a professional has shut off the electricity to the house to ensure your safety. Even if you’ve lost power, you can still be electrocuted in a flooded basement if someone is running a generator nearby and back-feeding electricity into the damaged electrical grid. 

If you need to re-enter your home after the power has been shut off, make sure that you are wearing protective gear such as boots, gloves, a mask, etc. Water that has damaged a home typically is filled with bacteria, so it is important to protect yourself against them. 

Cut Off Water Flow

After safety precautions have been taken, try to locate the source of the water to cut off the flow if possible. It is helpful to locate the shutoff valves before water damage occurs to get to them as quickly as possible. If the water is coming from inside the home, it is likely coming from a burst pipe or appliance malfunction. As stated previously, it’s important to take extreme caution when doing this to prevent further damage to your home or harming yourself.

Contact Professionals

After doing everything you can to minimize damage, it’s time to begin water damage restoration. This is a multi-step process that will begin to clean up all the water and damage from that water present in the home. It may be alluring to attempt it on your own; however, it is an arduous process that people are trained and skilled to do for you to minimize your own stress and get the job done right the first time. Attempting this on your own may result in missed spots that could lead to bigger damage than you started with. 

Professionals at Restoration 1 of Low Country will be able to help you assess the situation and lead you on the right path to bringing your home to its initial state. They will determine what can be restored and what will need to be replaced. Experts have the knowledge and experience you need to ensure that you can be safe in your own home after a flood.