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10
Feb
2018

Get Professional Help With Flood Restoration and Ensure Healthy Air in Your Home

by admin February 10th, 2018 in Basement Leaks
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When restoring a home after a flood, one of the most important things to keep in mind is ensuring good indoor air quality to protect the health of you an your family, and to make sure there is no further damage to the home. In an emergency situation, air quality may not be the first thing on your mind, but enlisting the help of a professional will make sure that air quality concerns can be dealt with right away to avoid serious long-term health risks.

Failure to remove standing water or water-damaged materials from a home can present some serious health concerns. Standing water, and wet materials left in the home will allow viruses, bacteria, and mould to grow.  These organisms can cause disease, trigger allergic reactions, and continue to cause damage to home materials long after the initial flood.

Immediate action by a professional is very important to ensure the least amount of long-term damage possible and to ensure that proper safety steps are followed. Safety should be top priority. To avoid electrical shock, anyone wading in standing water should wear rubber boots at all times, and extension cords should be kept out of the water. Power to the flooded area should be shut off at the breaker.

A professional will be able to assess what type of water the flood is made up of – clean water, or contaminated. Special precautions need to be taken if the water is contaminated, as there is a very real concern of infection from breathing the air in a contaminated area. Items sitting in contaminated areas may need to be bagged, tagged, and discarded appropriately.

Once the water is removed from the home, soaked and dirty materials should be removed from the home. Dirt on the walls and furnishings needs to be clean with detergent, and anything which cannot be dried out or cleaned needs to be disposed of. This includes flooring which has been damaged and cannot be cleaned and dried. Surfaces which remained dry and were not directly affected by the water should still be vacuumed and cleaned well. Drying should be done as quickly as possible to avoid mould growth.

Hiring a professional during the gruelling process of a flood clean up can ensure that the flood is dealth with properly and efficiently. This will help to ensure that additional problems arising from the flood, such as mould growth which can affect the health of your family, are avoided as a top priority.