Important Precautions When You Discover Water Damage To Assist With Restoration
What a nightmare – you open a door and enter a watery mess. Maybe your pipes froze, perhaps you let the bathtub overflow, or a sudden rainstorm caught you with open windows. Now you have water in your home and you need to keep your family safe. To stay safe as you assess the damage, here are some important things to remember.
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Wait For A Pro To Inspect
Invest the time and resources in order to save your electronics. Don’t just air dry the appliances and then turn them on. The appliance might short-circuit or shock you, resulting in an injury if there’s moisture in the electrical components.
If water has flooded a room and appliances came into contact with the water, 1) wait until the water recedes, 2) disconnect the appliances from power sources, and 3) call a water damage restoration expert. Do not reconnect appliances until a qualified technician has inspected them.
If there’s standing water in your house and the electric service is still running there, contact your utility company to turn the power off. Whatever you do, don’t switch on the lights, use electronic devices, or create open flames by lighting a match or turning on a gas range. You don’t want to ignite the leaking gas.
Turning on your HVAC system can spread mold throughout the duct work and your home, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guide to re-entering a flooded home. Have a water damage restoration technician double check for signs of mold BEFORE you crank it up.
Watch Out For Mold Inside Your Refrigerator and Freezer
Even if the fridge isn’t in standing water, that doesn’t mean the appliance is in the clear. The good news is that the refrigerator’s compressor and condenser are sealed and are located at the bottom of the refrigerator. However, insulation that gets wet will dry slowly once the appliance is plugged in and running, making it susceptible to mold.
A refrigerator’s water dispenser and icemaker are hooked up to your water line. So if you’ve been without water or under a boil alert, you’ll want to change your refrigerator’s water filter. Throw out your ice, flush the dispenser for 3 to 5 minutes, run the icemaker for an hour, and wash and sanitize the bins.
Access Your Homeowners Insurance Benefits
Even after your appliances and heating and cooling equipment dry out, odds are that components were damaged. Generally, it makes more sense to replace water-damaged appliances, given the high cost of repair parts and labor. You have paid your premiums for years. Call your insurance agent to see if your situation is covered by your homeowners policy.
Contact The Professionals
When you experience water damage here in Michigan, it is crucial to choose a contractor who is certified, licensed, bonded and insured. On-Site Specialty Cleaning & Restoration has a proven process in place to extract, mitigate and dry your home or commercial building. All water damage restoration experts are certified by the IICRC and equipped with the most advanced tools and procedures in the water damage restoration industry.
When your facility suffers from water damage, deploy the experts. We will respond to your service call at your facility for any emergency. Call us or visit our website to dispatch professionals immediately. Available 24/7, the water damage restoration experts at On-Site Specialty Cleaning & Restoration has helped Oakland County homeowners recover from devastating fire, flood, smoke & odor damage.