Safety Tips to Practice Before Your Water Damage Restoration Boca Raton Team Arrives

If you come home from a vacation to discover standing water or flooding in your home, you are likely going to experience several emotions all at once and feel overwhelmed. Of course you know you need to call a water damage restoration Boca Raton company, and have a team of water mitigation experts come over immediately, but after you have made that call, there are some safety tips you can follow before they arrive.

After a House Flooding, is it Safe to Enter Your Home?

If you can tell that you have flooding in your home, the first thing to do after ensuring your family and pets are safe, is to cut off the power. While it is rare, there have been occasions where people enter a flooded home and get electrocuted. Once you switch off the power, carefully enter the home and unplug all electrical devices and, if possible, relocate them to a dry area.

Look for Slip and Fall Hazards

In Boca Raton, there are several injuries reported from insurance data caused by slip and fall incidents in a house with water damage. If you have slick flooring, such as non-porous tiles or marble, the surface can be as slick as ice when wet. Get some old towels, blanked, or cardboard scraps and create a walkway on slippery floors. If you are able to create some hand-written “warning” signs and post those, your water damage restoration Boca Raton technicians will certainly appreciate it.

Be Mindful of Heavy Objects

When items made from absorbable materials such as furniture, drapery, bean bags, textiles, and other similar objects are exposed to water, they become significantly heavier. When you go to lift items to career to dry areas, or to provide a passage for water damage experts, test the weight of every item you move. If you feel you can lift and carry heavy items, be sure to lift with your knees to prevent back injuries–common medical injuries that occur when people don’t lift heavy objects properly.

Start Water Removal

Although your water damage restoration Boca Raton team will come with the latest technology in water removal equipment, you should try to get a head start on removing water, if you can do this safely. If you have a wet vac, put it to good use. Otherwise, use towels to soak up water, as well as buckets for water removal. You can also pat-dry areas where there is moisture. If you are dumping water outside, be sure to do this at least 20 feet away from the foundation of your home to help prevent water damage from inflicting that area. You can also use dry towels to pat-dry furniture or other valuable items that have been exposed to water.

Create Barriers Between Heavy Furniture Legs and Wet Floors

If you are unable to move furniture for whatever reason, place some wood blocks or aluminum foil under the furniture legs. This will protect your furniture from getting any additional water damage, and further protect your flooring. This is especially useful if you have wooden flooring, as the furniture can cause rings to form in the wood. If thai happens, you will either need to sand the entire floor after it has dried and restrain it, or you may have to invest in new flooring, so doing this is critical to protecting your wallet and the integrity of your home.

Remove Colored Rugs from Carpeted Areas, and Colored Textiles from Furniture

When rugs, throws, and other textiles get wet, the dye in their fibers can run and stain your lighter colored carpet or furniture upholstery. That said, be sure to remove colored carpets and textiles from light carpets and from furniture to help protect your home as much as possible.

Make Sure Pets are Safe and Removed from the Property

If you have cats and dogs (or any pet for that matter) they are likely in as much distress as you are. If they require medical attention, take them to the emergency room without delay and notify your water damage restoration Boca Raton company and make the necessary arrangements so they can enter your home. If your pets are not injured, see if a neighbor who hasn’t been impacted by flooding can watch them for you. Not only will they feel better being removed from the chaos, but your water damage restoration team won’t have to worry about a frightened dog biting them simply from being confused and traumatized. Also, having to work around dogs can be challenging and slow down the water damage restoration process, so it is best for everyone (and your home) if your pooch is kept at a neighbor’s home for the time being.