If you are experiencing severe flood damage for the first time, you probably don’t know what steps to take. Whether the flood was caused by storm damage, a malfunctioning home water system, or something else, the most important thing is to ensure your safety and clean up fast.
At Tri-County All Restorations, we have 25 years of experience providing flood restoration services in Oakland Park and throughout South Florida.
Contacting us should be one of the steps you take, but not the only one.
Here’s what else you can do to do to ensure the safety of your home and family.
Avoid Risks
Locate and stop the water at its source, if possible. If the flood was caused by groundwater, make sure to turn off all electricity in the home unless doing so requires you to step into the water.
If you have lost power in your home, it’s also advised to turn off your fuse connections in case the power is reactivated. At this time, you should leave the premises and find an alternative shelter.
We have provided flood restoration services in Oakland Park and we firmly believe that ensuring your safety and the safety of your family should be your first priority.
Don’t worry about the water damage yet – rest assured, our water damage service in Oakland Park will quickly restore your property. During this time, focus on mitigating risk.
Take Pictures
Don’t do anything until you have taken pictures and thoroughly documented the damage. It’s recommended that you don’t contact our flood restoration services in Oakland Park until this step is completed.
However, we do advise that you remove the water immediately to prevent mold. After we have removed the water from your residence, you should take additional pictures. If you wait until after the water is removed or you’ve started repairs, you may receive less compensation from the insurance company.
Contact Your Insurance Company or Landlord
One of the first steps to make is calling your insurer. Work with them to recoup as much as possible for repairs. The insurer will also let you know whether to begin repairs before or after an adjuster has seen the property.
We have extensive experience dealing with insurance companies and we understand if you want to quickly get around this step. However, there’s no set timeframe for dealing with the insurance company. It all depends on the severity of the damage.
If you’re renting the property, call your landlord immediately. Notify the landlord of what happened, and s/he will take it from there in terms of collecting damages.
Cleanup
Once your insurer greenlights repairs, it’s time to remove additional water from your home. This is a long process that requires sump pumps, wet vac, and other equipment you likely aren’t familiar with. Fortunately, we are.
Our flood restoration services in Oakland Park include water extraction to minimize overall damage. We don’t recommend that you attempt to remove the water on your own. For your safety, it’s advised that you hire a professional restoration team in flood situations.
For example, you may not wear the proper safety gear to prevent contact with bacteria.
Prevent Mold Damage
Extracting the water and tallying up your damaged belongings is important, but equally important is mitigating mold damage. After flood damage, it’s possible for toxic mold to grow throughout your home.
This can have long-term effects on your health.
It’s important to act quickly, as mold can develop within 24-48 hours after a flood. Preventative measures to carry out include:
- Have rugs professionally cleaned
- Discard furniture, as it’s likely unsalvageable
- Clean surfaces with a bleach solution
- Remove affected wallboards
These tasks are challenging to do on your own, which is why we recommend contacting Tri-County All Restorations.
It’s possible for us to discover additional water damage to the structure that you may miss. We have techniques in place to restore all affected areas. We also use cutting-edge technology to determine if an area is still wet even if it’s not showing obvious surface damage.
Contact Tri-County All Restorations
For water damage service in Oakland Park, contact our team today. Our family-owned business has years of experience in restoration services. We are fully licensed and insured. Call today for a free quote.
