No home is truly safe from all the potential accidents that can happen just by owning a home. Sadly, the reality is that far too many accidents do happen in our homes and sometimes there is no way to avoid it. You could be living in an older home and find out that the pipes are older and are decaying. And unfortunately you find out the hard way that they need to be replaced when flooding starts to happen typically in the basement. You could have rambunctious children who decide to plug the sink and fill the bathroom floors (and surrounding areas such as rooms adjacent to said bathroom) with water so they can create their own indoor pool. You could have a child plug a toilet with a toy or too much toilet paper and have it clog and start to back up sewer water and flood the floors with black water. There is an array of things that can happen accidentally that cause for action to take place immediately. Here are 5 steps to take when your home has flooded: contact a plumber immediately, do what you can to soak up any water if possible, document the damage, call your insurance company, and if damages are severe enough contact a contractor.

Do What You Can to Soak Up Any Water if Possible

First things first, soaking up whatever water you can immediately is probably something that is going to be done if the flooding hasn’t gotten out of hand. Typically using old towels is the quickest way to go but may not be the most effective. But, in these unfortunate circumstances, you’ll do whatever it takes to get it under control as quickly as possible.

Contact a Plumber Immediately

A plumber is needed to be able to clearly and quickly decide what the damages are and what can be done to renew the situation. They can see if there are issues with your plumbing, if it is a quick and easy fix or if it is something that needs extensive work to be made new. Whatever the case, a plumber can really help decipher what your plan of action should be.

Document the Damage

Documenting the damage is actually a very important step to not forget about. Most people don’t know that documenting damage is vital in helping get things back to the way they were. Take pictures, videos, dates, times and whatever else you can to provide to your insurance company. 

Call Your Insurance Company

Your insurance company must be contacted to be able to be compensated for whatever steps need to be taken after discovering the type of damage that has taken place.

If Damages are Severe Enough Contact a Contractor

In some of the more unfortunate cases, flooding can be severe enough that it has caused major damage to your drywall which means some walls may need to be removed and replaced. Carpet is also something that obviously would need to be replaced at that point or just cleaned at least. Pocatello Carpet Cleaning is a great place to connect with for your carpet cleaning needs.