Natural disasters in Pensacola, FL can wreak havoc on your home. Floods are no exception. The first step to dealing with a flood is to be prepared. Ensuring the safety of you and your family is the top priority. Connecting to your community alert system, gathering supplies and performing home maintenance are all good ideas. After the flood occurs, there’s a laundry list of clean up must do’s to deal with water damage. From electrical safety to debris removal, each step is vital to make sure your home is safe and back to pre-flood conditions. Learn what it takes to fully prepare for and cleanup after a flood below.
How to Prepare:
- Learn about your community. Flood risk, evacuation routes and emergency warning systems all vary depending on where you live. Educate yourself before a flood occurs.
- Gather supplies like nonperishable food and water. A battery-operated radio, extra charge cord for your phone and a flashlight are all useful.
- Ensure that your flood insurance is up to date. High water levels can cause expensive damage.
- Protect important documents by making digital copies that are accessible from anywhere. Keep the originals as safe as possible in a water-resistant container.
- Perform regular home maintenance like replacing missing shingles on your roof, removing debris from your gutter system, and installing a sump pump.
Clean-Up Must Do’s:
- Re-enter your home with caution. Never use electricity while in contact with standing water. If you can turn off power without entering standing water, then do so.
- In order to check that your electricity is safe to use, contact a professional electrician.
- The air quality in your home could be compromised due to mold. Air out your home before starting the cleanup process.
- You may lose power during a flood but make sure to use generators outside and away from doors and windows. Carbon monoxide from the exhaust is deadly.
- Avoid flood water. It’s likely to contain contaminants that are harmful to your health.
- Once standing water is removed by water damage restoration professionals, use fans and dehumidifiers to help dry out the affected areas.
- If it’s warm out, open windows and doors to speed up the drying process.
- Take inventory of items that have been lost or damaged during the flood. This is essential information to pass onto your insurance company.
- Get rid of debris like damaged property, sediments, and green waste that may have found its way into your home during the flood.
- Send clothing and upholstery to be professionally cleaned to ensure bacteria from the flood water is eliminated.
We hope this gives you a good idea of what it takes to clean up after a flood. If you don’t know where to start, contact us. ServiceMaster Restoration & Cleaning has a team of experts in Pensacola, FL to make the water damage restoration process as painless as possible. You can expect us to respond 24/7 to your emergency restoration needs.
