Hints to Help Deal With Flood Damage
As Floods Ravage Parts of the Midwest, a Few Helpful Tips Can Help Minimize Damage
03.19.2010 – After water, smoke or fire damage, it is natural for a person to want to begin the cleaning of their home or business. While timely action can be a great help, it is also true that incorrect or delayed action can jeopardize or seriously impede satisfactory restoration. In fact, the wrong action can make restoration more difficult and can greatly delay the timeliness of achieving the best results possible.
Water damage is progressive and items that could be restored within the first 48 hours of the water damage may not be restored if emergency response is delayed. Although you might be tempted to use a shop vacuum or call a company that only has equipment to dry carpet, you should consider that water will wick up walls and travel under base molding and sill plates. It will penetrate through floor coverings into sub-floors, even causing water damage in rooms below.
In addition, if humidity inside the structure is not controlled, items that were not damaged from the original water damage could be damaged as a result of absorbing moisture from the air. Structures that are not dried out quickly and properly can become a food source for mold growth.
In the event of water damage, do the following:
Stay calm! Call Rainbow International.
Turn off breakers in damaged areas before you unplug or remove any electrical devices located on the carpet.
Place aluminum foil under the legs of any furniture which is in contact with wet carpet. This might help prevent furniture stains on your carpet.
Lift draperies away from wet carpet.
Pin up upholstered furniture skirts which may get wet.
Remove books, shoes, paper goods, fabrics, potted plants, and other items which may stain wet carpet.
Do not attempt the following:
Don’t use your home vacuum, since electrical shock may result, as well as certain damage to the equipment itself.
Don’t place newspaper in traffic areas to walk on, since newspaper ink transfers easily to the wet carpet fibers and may result in permanent staining.
Don’t walk on carpet any more than necessary. This will keep the damage from spreading to unaffected areas.
Rainbow International Service Professionals are trained on current procedures, such as Rapid Structural Drying, to dry your entire structure as quickly as possible, using state-of-the-art equipment and technology. Moisture meters are used to locate moisture that may not be visible or may be hidden behind walls or cabinets, so that our Service Professionals can ensure that all wet materials are dry. Because we understand how important it is to react quickly in the unfortunate event of water, smoke, or fire damage, you can rely on Rainbow International to provide emergency response and quick professional service 24-hours a day.
Call your nearest Rainbow International location at (877) 517-2462 or visit http://www.rainbowintl.com and search via ZIP code.
