Picture yourself standing in your basement and gazing at your busted water heater, all the while standing in shin-deep water. Water damage can be the kind of scenario that finds people so overwhelmed that they get a little bit frozen. It can come about for many reasons and there are many ways to address it once it arrives.
Table of Contents
Remove Everything
One of the first steps to dealing with water damage is to salvage what you can and get rid of everything that you can’t. The point is that you want total exposure to whatever space has received the damage because you need to investigate everything, and having stuff in play that is just in the way can be frustrating.
Figure Out Your Coverage
Depending on the amount of damage, you’ll want to contact your insurance company to double-check what your coverage is. Taking pictures is a good idea, and touring and discussing things with an adjuster will ensure that you get all the support that you need from them. Of course, with water damage cleanup Monroe Township NJ, you probably want to look for a company that can advise you on your soggy situation.
Identify the Leak
Sometimes it’s easy to determine the cause of water damage. Coastal flooding, for instance, provides a pretty obvious blueprint as to the origins of the damage. However, if you’ve come back home after a big storm, and you’re not certain how the water got inside, you’ll need to figure that out because chances are there’s some (possibly extensive) damage behind the walls.
Protect Yourself
If the damage is severe, you may consider turning off the electricity. If you’re standing in water in a space that has outlets and power running through it, you don’t want to risk electrocution. Likewise, make sure to wear appropriate gear, like tall boots and rubber gloves, for keeping the bacteria-filled water from your skin. It’s not going to be clean, and there can be lots floating in it that can pierce you or have an otherwise bad effect.
