Standing Water? Standing IN Water? Call now.
If your building is flooded, stop reading and call us!
If you’ve had previous damage from water and it’s less of an emergency, you can call us or contact us by email.
Standing Water? Standing IN Water? Call now.
If your building is flooded, stop reading and call us!
If you’ve had previous damage from water and it’s less of an emergency, you can call us or contact us by email.
What Should You Do When Your Home Is Flooded?
People living and working in Southeastern Wisconsin are always aware that storms are unpredictable in intensity and possible consequences. There’s no telling when a severe storm can turn into a tornado or bring so much torrential rain that flooding occurs in some parts of the area.
What should you do if you find yourself in a situation where your home or business is flooded? Here are a few things you should try to cover first as part of your recovery process.
Safety First
Before anything else, ensure the safety of everyone in the building, including yourself. This isn’t as much of an issue in some situations, such as noticing a few inches of water in the basement, as it just means not going into that room. But if you have pets, children, or anyone else who may suffer from exposure to contaminated water, take care of them!
There is also the issue of electricity. If it is safe to do so, turn off the electrical power in the building. However, if the basement is heavily flooded, or, worse yet, you hear a hissing or “sizzling” noise coming from there, do not enter. Chances are, the water is electrified, and anything that touches it will get shocked.
Remove Valuables
This will vary from one person to next as some will put stock on sentimental items, while others may prioritize jewelry or financial documents. If there are very important or irreplaceable items that would be destroyed by water exposure, go back to remove them if it is still safe to enter the building.
Do not try to save everything. It will take too long, and some items, such as furniture, are impossible to move without help from others.
Take Photos
Photos are evidence, and this kind of documentation can help on the insurance side of things. Accurate photos showing the damage’s true extent make more of a case with insurance companies than written descriptions. A company can’t deny the scope of the damage when a photo conveys all of it.
You should also contact your insurance company to get the wheels in motion for assistance for repairs and recovery. How much money will be coming depends on the type of policy you have and what kind of deductibles you’ve agreed to cover.
Call Water Removal Experts
Now that everything is settled, recovery should be the next stage. Removing water from a flood site is not as simple as you might think and requires a lot of equipment and expertise. There is also the matter of recovering items. It may be possible to save furniture, documents, and other objects in a building, even if they were damaged by water.
All of this requires an assessment by experienced professionals, which is where we come in. If you suffer a flood and need help with recovery, Emergency Restoration Specialists have over 30 years of experience right here in Cudahy, serving the Milwaukee area. Contact us 24/7 for a prompt, professional response.