What to Do or Not Do After A Water Damage

10/7/2021 (Permalink)

“I have a water damage in my home. Can you help me?” No homeowner wants to make that call, but it unfortunately happens to many. Once you’ve made the call to SERVPRO of West Orange, what can you do?

Thankfully our staff is trained to walk you through the job process and offer some tips you can use to help mitigate your loss while you wait on our crews to arrive. Here is a list of some of do’s and don’ts that might also help.

DO:

• Shut off the source of water if possible or contact a qualified party to stop the source of water.
• Turn off circuit breakers for wet areas of the building when access to the power distribution panel is safe from electrical shock.
• Remove as much excess water as possible by mopping and blotting.
• Wipe excess water from wood furniture after removing lamps and tabletop items.
• Remove and prop up wet upholstery cushions for even drying.
• Place aluminum foil or wood blocks between furniture legs and wet carpeting.
• Remove to a safe, dry place any paintings, art objects, computers, documents and other materials that are valuable or sensitive to moisture.
• Use wooden clothespins to keep furniture skirting off damp floors.
• Hang draperies with coated hangers to avoid contact with wet carpeting or floors.
• Hang furs and leather goods to dry separately at room temperature.

DON’T:

• Enter rooms with standing water where electrical shock hazards may exist.
• Enter affected areas if electrical outlets, switches, circuit breakers or electrical equipment are exposed to water. Always avoid electrical shocks hazards.
• Leave books, newspapers, magazines or other colored items on wet carpets or floors to cause staining.
• Leave Oriental rugs or other colored rugs on wet wall-to-wall carpets to cause staining.
• Use your household vacuum cleaner to remove water, possibly causing electrical shock or damage to the vacuum cleaner.
• Use TV’s or other appliances while standing on wet carpets or floors, especially not on wet concrete floors.
• Turn on ceiling fixtures if ceiling is wet or enter rooms where ceilings are sagging from retained water.

Rest assured these tips will help you begin to mitigate your loss while our team of IICRC certified technicians is on the way. Please feel free to call us anytime at 407-352-1569.