As a working mother you are busy, that is a fact. Between your job, running the kids to their afterschool programs, keeping the fridge stocked with food and the house as clean as possible, there’s minimal downtime left for you. Now through an emergency into the mix and let the chaos unfold. A situation like a flooded house can quickly turn disastrous. But don’t let it get the best of you. With quick thinking and fast acting, you can recover from a flooded home and get everything back to how it is supposed to be. Here are a few tips to help you get on the recovery path in the aftermath of a flood.
First thing first, you’ll need to assess what type of damage the water has done to your house. If the flood was minimal and contained to one area, you should be able to inspect on your own. But if you do not feel comfortable, or the flood was quite extensive, bringing in a professional is a good idea.
If there is a significant amount of damage done to the structure of the house, water damage restoration will be needed. Leave something like that up to the professionals to ensure everything fixed correctly.
Start Drying the Affected Are
Clean Up Your Belongings
Any items that were laying around in water will need to be thoroughly dried out and cleaned. If not, they also pose a risk of developing mold. So go through everything that was in the flood and decide what is salvageable and what should be thrown away. That is the unfortunate circumstance of a flood; some items don’t survive.
If you have carpet in the affected area, there’s a good chance it will need to be ripped up. This is something to consider when you are assessing the damage. But things like area rugs can be sent to a professional cleaner.
You will also want to clean everything with strong cleaners completely. This includes any furniture as well. Bleach does wonders to disinfect everything thoroughly but can be hard on the skin and to breathe in.
Recovering from a flood is physically demanding, but also hard emotionally as well. You’ll want to document anything that the flood had damaged for insurance purposes. Take pictures and write thorough notes to send off to your insurance company. With smartphones this is now easier than ever before as nobody will leave their smartphone in case of a flood. Insurance companies will be able to compensate you in a more timely fashion if you have all the paperwork and proof needed.
