Professionals Give Safety Tips for Handling Flood Damage in La Porte

9/13/2022 (Permalink)

How to Be Safe When Mitigating Flood Damage in Your La Porte Home 

Flooding is one catastrophe that can ruin your house. It is impossible to predict the extent of destruction that flooding can cause. Unfortunately, barriers and other preventative tools cannot prevent all flood damage. After the initial shock, you should take steps to restore your property promptly to prevent secondary destruction.  

When your La Porte home has flood damage, it is vital to find a flood restoration company like SERVPRO to help you during this difficult time. You need to be cautious when re-entering your house once floodwaters recede. We recommend practicing the following safety tips to prevent health problems and injuries for you and your family: 

Be watchful with electricity. 

Floodwater can ruin wiring and electrical appliances throughout your home. Water and live wires are a dangerous combination. Therefore, turn off the power before entering your home. Have an electrician examine the entire electrical system to identify shorted circuits and damage before you turn it on.  

Be cautious about structural damage. 

Flooding may cause the walls or floors to buckle, creating unexpected sinkholes around your house. Check for these and other structural problems. If there is any damage to the frame or foundation, stay out until you can get a professional to inspect your house.  

Be selective about food.  

Flooding can also destroy food items. Consider most food containers a total loss if floodwater has touched them. You may disinfect some commercially canned goods, but if you are not sure about the safety of any food item, discard it.  

Cleaning up and disinfecting your flood-damaged home is a challenge because of the debris, mud, sand, and chemicals that floodwater may have brought into it. Our SERVPRO team has to tools and equipment required to clean up your home. We can use portable extractors to remove standing water if present. If the floodwater contained contaminants like sewage, our technicians might apply an EPA- registered broad-spectrum disinfectant to control microbes and make the worksite safe to perform other tasks.  

If flooding occurred in just a part of your property, our crew could create a drying chamber. This chamber is an area where we control the temperature, humidity levels, and airflow to increase evaporation within the zone, and dry the damp areas efficiently using air movers and refrigerant dehumidifiers. 

If floodwaters have entered your home in Michigan City, Westville or Trail Creek, call SERVPRO of La Porte County at (219) 879-1883 for restoration services. We’re Faster To Any Size Disaster. 

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