Coping With Water Damage after a disaster
March 31, 2010
If your business or home has experienced flooding due to a storm, a pipe break, roof leak or any other reason, your action taken could help to avoid you having many more problems in the future. Residents all throughout the New England area have experience significant property damages due to due flooding over the last three days. Many communities such as Cranston and Providence are in considered a FEMA declared disaster zone.
Whenever a building has been flooded, mold can begin to grow within 24 to 48 hours of the water damage. Therefore, it is vitally important that you act fact to prevent further devastation. Be sure to get a hold of your insurance company so that a report can be filed and do not neglect to document the damage using both written notes and photographs.
In the case that the flood happened a while before you noticed it, you should call in a consultant so that the extent of the damage can be assessed. Often times these contractors can help by taking the damaged materials out of the affected area such as dry wall, so that repairs can be made to the underlying area. Be sure that the contractor you hire is actually experienced in water damage restoration as these are the only type of professionals who know how to thoroughly remove the water, repair the damage and dry the area out so that microbiological contamination cannot start to grow.
Professional water damage remediation companies, once called, will do a visual assessment of the damaged area and will let you know what course of action must be taken to remedy the problem. If you have a substantial amount of flooding, then you will likely call in a local Providence flood damage cleanup company or other local company depending on where you reside. If mold contamination is suspected either by your reporting of having symptoms or by visual indication, the source of the mold will be located and it will be determined what route it took to end up where it is. If the source of the water has been present for an extended period of time, you can expect some type of structural damage that must be dealt with.
If your home is located in an area that is subjected to flooding, be sure to carry adequate flood insurance. Many people falsely believe that their regular homeowners insurance will cover flood and water damage, but the fact is, you need to take out a separate policy in order to be fully covered. It should also be noted that flood insurance must be purchased at least 30 days prior to making a claim.
