Inside Northern Kentucky

With all of the recent heavy rains in the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati area this spring, many people are trying to clean up flooded basements and other areas of their property. Often times you can contact your homeowners insurance for assistance in cleaning up the flooded basement of wet carpet, damaged drywall and other personal items. If you have flood coverage on your home, that is.

Many people don’t realize that if you don’t have flood insurance, even if you don’t live in a flood prone area, that your homeowners insurance policy usually doesn’t cover flood damage from rain or backed up sewer pipes caused by heavy rain. This can leave you stuck in the mud, so to speak. So, what can you do to begin cleaning up the water damage that is left behind if you can’t rely upon your insurance company? Here are some tips on cleaning up water damage in your home or business.

Be Safe – Water and Electricity Don’t Mix
One of the first things that you should consider is damage that may have been caused by water to any appliances or other sources of electricity. For example, if the water has gotten into your outlets or other appliances, such as a water heater or furnace, you should consider having the electric turned off to the affected circuits until you can verify that there is no damage to them. Usually you will need a qualified electrician to make that determination.

If you have wet circuits, outlets or other equipment and it is either still energized, or you turn it on or use it (like an outlet), you can cause a short and possibly start a fire. Or, you can suffer an electrical shock as well. Either way, if anything electrical has been affected by flood waters, best bet is to turn it off at the circuit breaker box and have it inspected by a qualified electrician.

Get the Carpet Dryers Out

If your basement or finished area had carpet, then you need to do one of two things. Either you need to remove the carpet and padding for replacement or you will need to have a commercial extractor or heavy duty machines that can remove the water from the carpet and padding as well. This is a crucial area that really needs to be dried out completely in order to prevent mold and mildew from forming. Usually the best method is to remove the carpet and padding completely if the entire room or area is affected.

Now, if just a corner is wet or a small area, you can usually pull that portion of the carpet up enough to remove the water and allow it to dry. You will also want to increase the ventilation in the area by using fans and dehumidifiers to dry out the area. You can rent large water vacs and dehumidifiers from most rental places at reasonable prices, however during times of high demand you might either pay a premium or have trouble finding them for rent.

Wet Walls?

If the water level was enough to expose your finished walls to moisture, then you need to consider what damage might have been caused not only to the wall area you can see, but also what is behind the wall. Behind the wall are the studs, insulation and other materials that can possibly wick the water into areas that you can’t see, thus causing problems much later that you might not realize. Mold and mildew love growing in dark and hidden areas.

Drywall removed to dry out studs from flood damage.

One of the best things you can do is if you suspect or know that water has gotten into the wall area is to cut the drywall around the area at least 6 inches above the highest level of water damage. This will allow you to remove the drywall down to floor level and gain access to the insulation, studs and other areas for further inspection. This will also allow your fans and dehumidifiers to remove the moisture from the materials as well. You might as well plan on removing the insulation and throwing it out. You should also count on having the area open for at least a week or until really dried out in order to prevent mold and mildew from growing once you replace the drywall and seal it back up.

Personal Health and Safety

One precaution that you should take into mind during a flood is that you don’t necessarily know what is in the water. With many storm sewers and sanitary sewers possibly affected, you should take caution with your personal health during any cleanup operation. You should wear good sturdy boots that are water resistant, gloves (like the dishwashing type) and possibly even consider wearing a mask or other facial protection from splashes. You should be aware that hepatitis and other diseases can be found in the water after a flood, especially if the sanitary sewers were affected or flooded.

Were to Get Help

There are numerous ways to get help with the cleanup of your property once a flood has occurred. You can count on neighbors, friends and family to possibly be able to help you out. There are also numerous companies that provide rental equipment, storage of items, restoration from flood damage of your personal items and also they can restore your structure too.

Some of these companies, for example Serv-Pro and similar companies, will arrive on scene, use their large commercial wet-vacs to remove excess water and debris, place dehumidifiers and fans, salvage your personal items and assist in restoring the property. While this sounds great, you must understand that these services are not cheap, especially if your insurance isn’t covering anything related to flood damage.

There are many options for you in case of a flood. One of the first options is to be prepared for it before it happens. Check with your insurance company about flood damage from rain, backed up pipes and other sources. Be prepared by keeping personal items in water proof containers if you are storing them in the basement or other flood prone area.

Feel free to share any flood restoration tips that you may have with us!

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