Tips for Restoring Items After a Flood

3/9/2021 (Permalink)

A home damaged by water damage in Free Home, GA.

Tips for Restoring Items After a Flood

When your home in Free Home, GA floods, you may fear that everything is a total loss. It is disheartening enough when replaceable items are ruined, but losing priceless family heirlooms can be devastating. Fortunately, flood restoration experts can often salvage items that have damage from water in the home.

Protection

You can do your part to save your family's treasures. Start by separating damp items:

• Place in dry, open boxes or envelopes
• Remove pictures from saturated albums carefully
• Label boxes containing broken pieces of the same item

Treat your possessions gently, as water from a broken pipe makes them significantly more vulnerable to irreparable damage. Keep them out of direct sunlight, as this can cause them to fade. If you are unsure about how to handle a particular item, set it aside in a safe place and wait for the specialists to address it.

Drying

One of the first steps of the mitigation process is to remove all the water in the home. Technicians use industrial pumps to extract standing water and debris, and they discard ruined materials. You can increase air flow by turning on fans and decrease humidity with a dehumidifier. The specialists inspect each item to see if there is a way they can save it. If it can be salvaged, the structure of the piece determines the method used to do so.

Cleaning

It's possible that, in addition to getting wet, your belongings also are dirty from the flood. Specialists use the appropriate cleaning process for the material of each item. For example, most textiles can be restored with dry cleaning. Once the structure has been repaired and cleaned, you can remove all restored items back into your home.
Water in the home is not an automatic total loss. Before you throw out your beloved possessions, consult the specialists in charge of mitigating the damage. They may be able to save more than you think.