Before you call Scoop, Muck, and Dizzy, and Roley too, it’s best to take a step back, consider the type of damage, and think about whether it is a good idea to even attempt a do-it-yourself fix. After all, much water and other damage is usually behind walls and otherwise invisible, so the visible damage may only be the tip of the iceberg.
Read more after the jump:
Heavy Water
We aren’t talking about deuterium oxide, which was the final component Hitler needed to build a nuclear reactor. Instead, we’re talking about the water in your basement. Clean water weighs over eight pounds per gallon, and contaminated water will weigh even more, which means that a five-gallon shop vac bucket is a heavy load to carry up the stairs.
It is essential to completely dry the basement to avoid further damage and mold growth. Save yourself the effort, and possibly a trip to the emergency room, with a call to a basement flood cleanup professional who uses much larger, and much faster, equipment, while you do other things.
Flood Water is Dirty
The water is not just dirty in the sense of unclean; it’s also dirty in the sense that it’s unhealthy. Runoff water usually contains millions of bacteria, some of which are harmful to everyone and some of which are harmful to people with certain allergies.
Since there is no way to tell what contaminants are in the water without sending a sample to a laboratory, the best idea is to simply avoid it all together, and be safe rather than sorry.
Insurance Help
Flood water not only affects your house’s structure, but also the personal possessions in that room.
Insurance companies can be very picky when it comes to property damage claims. Experienced restoration professionals know the particular idiosyncrasies of each company, so they are well-positioned to document evidence of damage in a way that a particular insurance adjuster wants it documented, expediting the claims process.
Water Hides
Even trace amounts of moisture are more than sufficient to trigger mold growth, and this moisture often accumulates in cracks and behind walls where it is essentially impossible to find without infrared cameras and other advanced equipment.
A restoration specialist has both the training and equipment to locate and eradicate latent moisture before it becomes an environmental hazard.
Experience Matters
Floods and other water emergencies are one-time events for most people, so most water removal effort is based on guesswork and what they believe to be common sense.
Restoration professionals have years of experience, and they perform this type of work every day at multiple sites, so their efforts are based on what they have learned, either through training or through the school of hard knocks.
Just like many other situations, the best way to handle a water emergency is to confront it head-on and do a thorough job the first time. The best way to guarantee that approach is to partner with a professional, so you can have peace of mind.
Images from Kingsville Remodel by Richard King Design
