Water damage wrecks not only our home properties and home structure. It also poses a big threat to our finances. Clean up alone may require imported services from professionals. Repair is another major issue to tackle. Effective repair comes along with a hefty fee. However, more than the financial dilemma that water damage brings, the emotional and mental consequences are even more difficult to deal with.
Every household may have its own way of dealing with water damage. No matter what the most convenient approach for you is, what is important is that you deal with every step one at a time. Below are five basic tips to help you recover from the bad news of water damage.
1. The first thing you need to do is grab your protective gloves before you start the clean up. Your protection tools will ensure you of a safe and harmless procedure. These may include your gloves, masks, wellies and the like. For homes with major damages, you may consider hiring the services of a professional conservator. A newly flooded home poses a variety of health risks – which can be dangerous to people with low immune system.
2. For properties inside the house, separate all dry properties from the wet ones. If you can dry them up right away, feel free to do so through air drying. In cases where you need to temporarily put your wet stuff inside plastic bags, make sure that you keep your bags open so as to prevent mold contamination.
3. Another bad news about water damage – mold and mildew. You need to reduce humidity and excessive moisture to keep mold from accumulating. Ensure good ventilation. Keep windows open as often as possible. Using your air conditioners and dehumidifiers will be of big help as well. Keeping your lights at moderate exposure will also reduce the risks of mold and mildew contamination.
4. For broken properties, temporarily place the debris like broken parts, bits of veneer and the like, in open containers. Do not attempt to repair these broken objects when not completely dry. You may also consider consulting with a professional conservator for better results.
5. For your books, photographs, works of art and important documents, the first thing to do is to air dry these objects. Paper is extremely fragile so make sure that you handle them carefully. Take them out from frames and mats as much as possible. Use clean water to rinse mud off the materials but avoid touching the surfaces as this will cause prints to blur or in some cases, even disappear.
While it is understood that recovering things from water damage requires immediate attention, staying calm and relaxed is even of major importance. The complete recovery from water damage does not happen over days. Sometimes, it happens over months, even years. Start up by getting your pen and paper. List down what needs to be done. Prioritize. Then that’s the time you can proceed to your recovery procedures. And as you go through each of your step, bear in mind the magic mindset – one at a time.
