Water Damage

You spend your evening out catching dinner and going to a movie. You are having a great time. You have your favorite meal for dinner, and the movie was great. You keep this good feeling on your drive home and when you get home. You lose this feeling quickly, however, when you enter your home and upon walking through your home, realize you are now standing in water that wasn’t there when you left.  Standing water means you now need to go through your house and determine where the water originated from and begin to clean it up or find the leak and stop it. What should you do when you find water on your floors? When should you assess the water damage?

Check  For Electrical Current

Most people notice water after they’ve already entered the house and find themselves standing in it. Others will see water coming from the house while outside. The number one important thing to make sure before you begin any type of clean up or assessment is to determine that there is no electrical current running through the water or anywhere near the water. Your safety is your number one priority over any type of family heirloom or memory. Once you determine it is safe to enter…..find the leak.

Find The Leak

Trying to clean up the water will not help if you don’t determine first that water is not still flowing somewhere. You need to check your pipes, see if the commode overflowed, tubs, sinks, washer, check upstairs and in the basement. When you find where the leak originated, then you need to determine if the water is still flowing. The water flow could be stopped at the sight of the leak, or you may need to shut off the water to the house. Once this is shut off, then you can assess the damage.

Assess The Damage

Now you need to walk around and assess where the water has gone. While you will see water on the floor, you need to understand that there might be water in the walls, cabinets, in the floor, and other places where it is not obvious that water has gone. This could mean that you need to hire a professional to assess the amount and place of water damage. You could end up contacting your homeowner’s insurance company to assess the damage and make a recommendation for who to call to restore your home back to before the damage.