Waking up to a flooded home at 3am is a daunting, stressful, and overwhelming moment. It’s not, however, just a fleeting moment in time. It is the first step of what can be a lengthy, frustrating, and uphill journey. Yet for those who are prepared and take along the right professionals to navigate their journey, the experience can be far less disruptive.
The initial steps you take after discovering your water-damaged home will determine the outcome of your situation. As with all things though, safety should be your first priority. If you don’t feel safe, get out. But, if you feel safe, take the next step. If necessary, turn off electricity to ensure there’s no danger of electrocution. Locate the source of the water that’s turned your home into an indoor swimming pool. Since water, and most definitely water that’s backed up from sewers or septic systems, carries hazardous contamination, put on waterproof closed shoes and Latex or vinyl gloves, and have all family members do the same. Remove pets and young children from the flooded areas for their safety. If possible, stop the water leak at its source. This may even mean turning off the main water line that feeds your home, either outside your house, or further away at the utilities meter which likely will require a special tool called a curb key or slot-head street key. *If the source of flooding is due to an act of nature such as rising floodwaters outside, and the indoor water level is the same as the floodwater level outside, you will need advice from mitigation professionals like DRY FIRST as to how and when to proceed, and what you should do next.
After your family and pets are secured, and after you’ve turned off the water source (or identified that the water has come from outside), the next thing to do is to call a reputable IICRC-Certified Firm that only deals with losses like yours. DRY FIRST has employees standing by 24/7 every day of the year, has over three decades of experience, and is locally owned and operated. Better still, DRY FIRST can have trained Mitigation Crews onsite in 30 minutes and offers FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATIONS.
The main thing to remember as you’re standing ankle-deep in water at 3am is that time is of the essence. Don’t wait to act. The water that’s obvious and visible to you is not even the area that’s of most concern. It’s those hidden areas where, in ideal conditions, mold can begin to grow in just 48 hours. So, while you’re stressed about your new sectional sofa and big screen TV that are sitting in water, DRY FIRST is most concerned about what’s happening on the backside of drywall, behind your baseboards, under the flooring, beneath your cabinetry, behind your vanities, and on the other side of your wallpaper. Those are the ideal places for mold growth — those dark, moist, stagnant places where mold always follows water damage that’s not properly mitigated. Once mold growth begins, it amplifies. Mold spores can colonize in three to 12 days; and mold will usually be visible within about three weeks from the time water was introduced to the area and then not properly and thoroughly removed. While you can see the face of drywall, cabinets, wallpaper, flooring, and baseboards, it’s impossible to see behind it or underneath it.
That’s why people call DRY FIRST. We have the tools, technology, experience, and resources to test those areas for moisture and mold. Better still, our trained professionals can mitigate the water damage, remove any mold that may be discovered, and even handle all reconstruction to return your home to its pre-condition. Best of all, our customers only pay their insurance deductibles while DRY FIRST advocates on their behalf with their insurance companies.
