How to Fix Water Damage in Your Home (and When to Panic About It)
If you’ve ever woken up because your house’s water pipe broke, your water heater failed, or you suffered a flash flood that turned your basement into a swamp, you know that water can be one of the most damaging and destructive elements. . If you own a home, you will eventually come to the realization that water damage is one of the worst things that can happen to it, and that you need to react fairly quickly if you want to avoid more serious (and longer term) damage. problems. . Here’s what to do when water enters your home in an unwanted and unwanted way.
Rate water
First things first: if you’re standing in your living room in shock as water pours from a broken pipe, turn off the water . You know where your water cut-off valve is , right?
Once the immediate issue has been resolved—such as turning off the water or waiting out the storm—your next step is to figure out what kind of water you’re dealing with. If it’s due to a broken water pipe, a leaky shower, or rain, you can clean it up yourself using minimal protective gear. If it ‘s gray water from a toilet, washing machine, or dishwasher , you can still clean it yourself, but you must be careful by wearing rubber gloves and sanitizing yourself thoroughly afterwards.
However, if it’s “black” water from a sewer or street flood, you’ll probably need professional help. Flood water usually contains a lot of bacteria and faeces that can make you sick, as sewage is, in general, sewage . If this is the source of your water problem, call a restoration specialist.
Dealing with damage
If your water damage is related to clean or waste water and is not too great, here’s what to do:
- Remove standing water. Use a wet/dry vacuum, all-purpose pump, or a billion towels to remove water from all surfaces.
- Dispose of porous materials. I hate to tell you this, but almost anything that soaks up water may have to be thrown away if it gets wet. This includes wood, furniture and drywall. If it’s something that can be washed, like a pillow or a carpet, you can keep it if the water was relatively clean, but everything else will have to be thrown away because the chances of you being able to wash all the water off are minimal. You can cut the drywall an inch or two wider than the impregnated sections on the walls and ceiling. You may be able to save wood floors if the water is relatively clear (if it’s black water you shouldn’t try) and you’ve dealt with standing water very quickly, but your chances of success are slim. If the water has been standing there for a while or soaked into the wood, the water has most likely accumulated between the boards and the subfloor, and between the subfloor and the joists. Over time, this water will cause mold and dry rot, as well as attract insects, and the only way to really dry it out is to clean the floor and subfloor. You can try to aggressively dry the area, but be especially paranoid about signs of mold and rot.
- Drain. Depending on the extent of the water damage, you may need to run a few fans or an industrial dehumidifier ( which you can rent ) for a few days. Once you’ve removed the damaged floor, drywall, and other materials, ventilate the area until you find absolutely zero humidity. This may take some time, so be patient.
- Disinfect. Regardless of the source of water intrusion, clean any non-porous materials such as tile or surfaces it has come into contact with. Rainwater may not kill you, but it can bring a lot of dirt and germs into your home, and gray water can be even worse.
- Check for mold. The fact is that mold is almost everywhere, it sleeps and waits for water to revive it. Water damage increases the overall moisture content of the affected areas, provoking mold growth. No matter how quickly you reacted and how well you dried the area, you should hold off sealing things and see if mold has started to grow. Look for blackheads on the affected areas; Mold and mildew can often look like dirt, but if you know the property has been recently flooded, it’s probably mold. You can also use a home test to be sure, although it may take a while to get the results.
- Prevention. Once you’ve removed the spoiled material, dried the water, and checked for mold, your final step before replacing everything is to consider what you can do to ensure this never happens again. If the damage was caused by a natural disaster, it may be worth considering redeveloping your property or installing pumps or drainage systems to minimize flooding. If the water got in because of a plumbing problem or a leaking roof, obviously you need to fix it – really fix it – before doing anything else.
- Repair and replacement. It might be worth investing in a moisture meter that can tell you if there is still residual moisture in a water damaged area. Once the meter stops detecting significant humidity, you can remove fans and dehumidifiers and replace drywall, flooring, and furniture as needed.
When to panic
If your water damage is relatively limited and you’ve reacted quickly to it, chances are you’ll be able to handle it without too much trouble or expense. But there are scenarios where panic is an appropriate response to water damage:
- Filled the entire finishing floor. If your entire ground floor (or, good sir, your entire second floor) or finished basement has standing water, that’s a huge problem that probably needs a full professional refurbishment. This will include ripping out your floor and at least parts of your walls and getting rid of just about anything the water has touched. Check your insurance, make some calls, and get ready to write some checks.
- You don’t know the source. It’s one thing to have a water stain on the ceiling and quickly realize that your old toilet is leaking. It’s a completely different matter if you have water damage and you can’t figure out where it came from, because most likely you have big problems. It could be a pipe inside your wall that is leaking, a nearby property that is leaking onto yours, or a nightmarish groundwater scenario that has decided to invade your property. If you can’t figure it out, call the pros.
- The water stood for some time. If you return home from vacation and find that your living room has turned into a puddle, or if water seeps into a part of the house that you rarely go into, you will have a more serious problem, even if it is not too large a problem. Water that has soaked into your floors, walls, and furniture will be very difficult to dry out and will likely spread to other parts of the house.
- You see water damage to your foundation. Floors and walls can be replaced – it can be expensive, but it can be done. However, if your foundation shows signs of water damage, you’ve been hit hard. If your basement or basement has flooded and you are now seeing mold, cracks, crumbling, or any other indication that your foundation has been compromised, call an expert right away and start thinking about the worst-case scenarios.
The key to repairing any water damage in your home is speed: the faster you turn off the water supply and start drying things, the more positive your outlook will be.