THE WIKI COMMUNITY

Monday 30 August 2010

What To Do To Prevent Water Damage

By George Archer

No matter how careful we are, water has a knack for ending up where it's not supposed to be, and usually at the most inconvenient of times. Whether it is the clogged garbage disposal or a broken valve on the toilet, water damage has a way of ruining our day.

If you're lucky and quick, the water problem can easily be sopped up with a few bath towels. If you're not lucky, and who is with these things, you're going to have to do a bit more work. The primary idea is to get the water dried up in order to prevent severe damage to your floors and walls and other belongings.

Professionals designate three varieties of water leak: Clean and grey and black. The water overflowing from your tub is considered clean because it contains few pollutants that could cause you to get ill. The water cascading over your toilet bowl is considered grey because it contains numerous germs, and black water has biological waste and has the potential for causing serious medical problems.

Whenever you deal with cleaning up a leak, it is best to wear protective clothing and sturdy gloves to protect yourself and those around you. This is extremely important if you have to work in grey or black water.

Walking by a wall after a rainfall and finding a water spot is certainly going to make you wish you hadn't seen it. But, take heart, it's a good thing you did, because just think of the consequences if you hadn't. You might end up with having to replace the entire wall if you weren't alerted early to take care of the leak and early prevention is worth a pound of cure. Mold and mildew love dark, moist places to fester and they can lead to illness.

If you come home to water standing in a room, go and turn off the electricity before walking it. You don't want to get yourself electrocuted on the way to shutting of the water under the sink. Besides, while you're shutting off the electricity, you may as well turn off the water too.

Speed is an important factor in preventing water damage. The faster you can get the water dried up, the better it will be for your home. Having a wet-dry vac in the garage is a wonderful tool for just such emergencies as this. Suck up as much water as you possible can by using the vacuum. Once that is done, bring in all the fans you own and maybe some from the neighbor's, and move the air around to facilitate drying the area. You will have to leave the air moving for at least a couple of days.

If you had a lot of standing water you should remove the molding around the bottom of the walls and allow it to dry on its own. Cleaning and disinfecting the wall area and the molding is a good idea to retard the growth of any microorganisms. Make sure the wall is completely dry before placing the molding.

Clean and disinfect all the flooring affected. If your carpet is involved, remove every bit of moisture possible and then use a good disinfectant and deodorizer to saturate it and then remove all liquid again and go through the air-drying process. If you are able to thoroughly saturate and disinfect it, it's possible you many not have to remove and toss out the padding.

Don't forget to check your furniture for damage. Go through the same procedures to remove water and disinfect and deodorize.

If you feel the job is too big for you, don't be shy about calling in the big guns. After all, they are the experts in dealing with water damage and they can probably put your mind at ease. Contact your homeowner insurance company for references when you call them to place your claim.

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