What To Do If Your Home Has Sustained Flood Damage
No matter which area of the country you live in, flood damage can be a serious concern.
Hurricanes, large-scale rainstorms, or broken dams or levees can all lead to flooding.
Even if you don't live in a place where this is typically a concern, a broken water heater or leaky pipe could still cause flooding inside your home.
If your home has been flooded, you should act fast to dry out your home and mitigate any destruction that has occurred.
First, you should lower the humidity in your home.
This will dry out your home faster and reduce the risk of rot and mildew.
Opening the doors and windows is a good way to lower the humidity in your home, as long as it is more humid inside than it is outside.
At nights, this will generally not be the case, as the humidity level of the outdoors will drop.
Therefore, you will need to close up your home at night to keep the humidity from seeping back in.
Other ways to reduce the humidity in your home are to use a dehumidifier, open up cabinet and closet doors, or use a desiccant, which is a chemical that can reduce the humidity in your home.
After taking steps to reduce the humidity in your home, you should begin to sort your belongings to determine what can be salvaged.
You should sort your possessions into three categories: things you want to save, things you don't want to or can't save, and garbage.
You should throw garbage away immediately so it doesn't begin to accumulate.
Garbage piles can attract animals or insects, causing yet another health hazard in your home.
For this reason, it is especially important to throw out rotting or spoiling food as soon as possible.
Your next order of business when tackling flood damage should be to clean out mold and mildew.
It can accumulate extremely quickly and can lead to a multitude of health problems if left unchecked.
Mold and mildew can grow at an extremely rapid rate, so it's important to get your home inspected as soon as possible.
Generally, household cleaning products will do the trick.
You should clean one room at a time so the task doesn't get too overwhelming, and be sure to go over each room with a disinfectant once you finish using ordinary household cleaners.
This will kill any germs and remove any odors that the floodwaters left behind.
Once you've cleaned your home, it may be necessary to repair or rebuild any parts of your home that have been destroyed by flood damage.
Many states will require that you get a building permit before you begin rebuilding, so you should do some research on your state's permit laws before you start to rebuild.
You should also find a qualified contractor who can help get your home back to normal.
Hurricanes, large-scale rainstorms, or broken dams or levees can all lead to flooding.
Even if you don't live in a place where this is typically a concern, a broken water heater or leaky pipe could still cause flooding inside your home.
If your home has been flooded, you should act fast to dry out your home and mitigate any destruction that has occurred.
First, you should lower the humidity in your home.
This will dry out your home faster and reduce the risk of rot and mildew.
Opening the doors and windows is a good way to lower the humidity in your home, as long as it is more humid inside than it is outside.
At nights, this will generally not be the case, as the humidity level of the outdoors will drop.
Therefore, you will need to close up your home at night to keep the humidity from seeping back in.
Other ways to reduce the humidity in your home are to use a dehumidifier, open up cabinet and closet doors, or use a desiccant, which is a chemical that can reduce the humidity in your home.
After taking steps to reduce the humidity in your home, you should begin to sort your belongings to determine what can be salvaged.
You should sort your possessions into three categories: things you want to save, things you don't want to or can't save, and garbage.
You should throw garbage away immediately so it doesn't begin to accumulate.
Garbage piles can attract animals or insects, causing yet another health hazard in your home.
For this reason, it is especially important to throw out rotting or spoiling food as soon as possible.
Your next order of business when tackling flood damage should be to clean out mold and mildew.
It can accumulate extremely quickly and can lead to a multitude of health problems if left unchecked.
Mold and mildew can grow at an extremely rapid rate, so it's important to get your home inspected as soon as possible.
Generally, household cleaning products will do the trick.
You should clean one room at a time so the task doesn't get too overwhelming, and be sure to go over each room with a disinfectant once you finish using ordinary household cleaners.
This will kill any germs and remove any odors that the floodwaters left behind.
Once you've cleaned your home, it may be necessary to repair or rebuild any parts of your home that have been destroyed by flood damage.
Many states will require that you get a building permit before you begin rebuilding, so you should do some research on your state's permit laws before you start to rebuild.
You should also find a qualified contractor who can help get your home back to normal.
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