10 things to do while waiting for our team
By following these tips you can preserve and protect your home and belongings, while also enabling our technicians to get right to work on your property.
- Protect furniture in damage area. Placing aluminium foil underneath the legs of heavy furniture that can’t be moved will help protect them and your carpets. You can also use plastic bags around the legs.
- Watch your step. Seal off the areas that have been exposed to mold or sewage from the rest of your home and try not to enter those areas. If you must enter, to prevent tracking contaminates around your home, wrap your shoes in a plastic bag and remove the bag before leaving the contaminated area.
- Shut off or unplug. In a large flood turn off the electricity, gas, and water entirely. For a smaller flood, make sure all electrics in the vicinity are unplugged.
- Turn on a de-humidifier. If you have a de-humidifier, turning it on as quickly as possible after a flood will help keep your house dry and prevent mold growth. However, a heater is not a replacement for a de-humidifier. Turning on your heater can actually increase moisture!
- Move saturated items. If you have clothing, bedding or easily movable rugs that have been saturated by water, move them into large containers, the bathtub or the garage. They will be out of the way and dry out faster, too.
- Discard exposed items. If an item has been exposed to mold or sewage it’s best to discard it for health reasons. Talk to our helpful technician and learn which items can be sterilized. Any children’s toys and items should be discarded. Additionally, plastic and wooden kitchenware is not easily recovered.
- Store paper in the freezer. Storing valuable books or papers that have been saturated in a flood in the freezer until our technicians can work on them can prevent further damage. First place the paper or book in a plastic bag. Or place a sheet of parchment paper every 20 to 30 pages to prevent sticking.
- Keep doors and windows shut. Opening a door or window may let in more moisture than it lets out. Wait for a technician to arrive, and then they can advise you about opening doors and windows.
- Lift curtains. It isn’t necessary to completely remove floor length curtains or other draperies in the damaged area unless there is mold or sewage. Instead use clothes hangers hooked onto the curtain rod to lift curtains off the ground.
- Do some research. Check our website for tips on how to prevent and deal with water damage, mold, and other household problems.
To make an appointment, call 209.266.2656 or click here to request an appointment online.