Prevent a Disaster With These Water Damage Cleanup Tips
When you experience water damage in your home, the cleanup may seem like a daunting or overwhelming task. It’s essential, first and foremost, to know what causes water damage, so that you know how to prevent it.
Sometimes, though, avoiding a flood isn’t possible. In that case, it’s important to address the damage immediately to keep your home and family as safe as possible.
And finally, make sure to not only clean up your home but also your air, with an air scrubber. As long as you keep these three things in mind, your cleanup will go smoothly, and your home will be back to normal in no time!
Common Causes of Water Damage
Water damage in your home can come from many sources. Of course, the most common cause is leaking from pipes, appliances, your kitchen sink garbage disposal, or even your toilet. Here are a few other issues that can lead to flooding, and cause severe water damage in a home:
- Sewer line backup.
- A significant storm or natural disaster, like a hurricane.
- A broken sump pump.
- Clogged gutters.
- Burst pipe.
Always Address The Issue as Soon as Possible
When it comes to water damage, it is imperative that you respond as soon as possible with your cleanup efforts.
If left unattended, or not adequately cleaned, water damage can lead to severe issues like structural damage to your home, serious electrical malfunctions, and health complications for your family.
Depending on where the water that entered your home came from, you may even be at risk of exposure to harmful bacteria, worms, and parasites. The most common issue associated with water damage is that is can cause mold and mildew to grow in your home.
These can lead to complications from health issues such as asthma, allergies, and other respiratory problems. Contaminated water from sewers can also usher in bacteria like e-Coli, as well as parasites that can be devastating to your family’s health.
Water damage can also undermine the structural integrity of your home’s walls, floors, roof, and even the very foundation of your home. If not addressed in a timely manner, water damage could lead to a serious issue, like your roof caving in.
Electrical failures due to water damage are also a threat. If your electrical panel is damaged by a leak or flood, it could cause a blown fuse in the best case, or even an explosion or fire, in the worst case.
Use an Air Scrubber
Air scrubbers are used in many cases where there has been significant damage to a structure (like flooding and water damage) to clean and purify the air, improving indoor air quality.
They are often confused with negative air machines, and while the two are used for similar things, they are very different.
Air scrubbers, for example, are portable and stand alone in the center of a given room, with no ductwork. They take the contaminated air in, run it through a series of filters, and recirculate the purified air into the room.
Air scrubbers are so effective at removing hazardous airborne chemicals and pollutants that they were even used in the Pentagon in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. They can remove everything from mold spores and dust particles to asbestos and lead from the air.
