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If your home has been submerged in water, you are going to want to get it dried out as soon as possible, but there are a few things that you need to be made aware of before you attempt to do this.  Floods are often unexpected events and preparing for them physically is usually not possible unless the flood comes as a result of a hurricane and even then, protecting the belongings that you have to leave in the house after you evacuate isn’t very easy to do.  You can stop most rain from getting into the house, but not flood waters.

Before you go back into the house after the majority of the water has receded, you need to make sure that going into the house will not expose you to the risk of being electrocuted.  You should not rely on the condition of your neighborhood’s electricity and assume that just because the rest of the neighborhood is without power, you are, too.  Cut the electricity to the house completely off so that you can go back inside safely. 

Get a video, digital, or traditional film camera and begin making a record of just how much damage was done to the home.  Include just how long the house was under water, what was damaged, and approximately how much it will cost to repair or replace it.  This will help a lot when you have to file a claim with your insurance company.

Help ventilate the house and start drying it out by opening all windows and doors, as long as it is not raining outside.  The breeze blowing through the house should help dry things out a little faster, but do not use an artificial heat source to do this task.  Drying out hardwood floors and some other items too quickly this way can do more damage to them than good, so using a space heater or a hot air blower is not advised. 

Any electronic devices in the house should be let to dry out completely before you attempt to use them again.  It is the electricity flowing through an electronic device that damages it to the point of being irreparable, not the water itself.  The combination of the two is what does the damage.

Take wet furniture outside and allow them to dry out; put them in the shade, if possible.  This is because direct sunlight can bleach fabrics and you do not want to do more damage to your furniture than has already been done.

Fort Lauderdale Wet Carpet Drying

Here is a list of some of the things that you should know about mold, whether you’re a tenant, a landlord, or a homeowner.

1. If you’re renting a property and it has mold when you move in, it’s your responsibility to report if to the property owner and it’s their responsibility to remove it if you intend to keep living there. You are not responsible for this expense if you are merely renting.

2. You can’t get rid of all of the mold in your home. Mold spores are a constant presence and while many are dangerous, some common types of mold are not.

3. Mold isn’t always visible to the naked eye. It grows not only where you can see it, but in places where you can’t like underneath wallpaper, behind walls, underneath your carpet, basements, air conditioners, and any other area in your home that is warm and moist.

4. Some of the most frequent culprits of letting mold into your house are structure flaws. The ground surrounding your home should slope away from your home’s foundation to avoid letting moisture and standing water into the house, especially if you have a basement.

5. While mold spores are indeed everywhere we go, higher concentrations of them can lead to health complications. High concentrations of these spores in homes and businesses are what cause most problems as opposed to control tests done outdoors.

6. Professional laboratory testing is required to discover just what kind of mold you have living in your home. No matter what kind of mold you might think you’re dealing with, it could probably just as easily be another variety.

7. Removing mold in your home can be a do-it-yourself project if the problem is not too severe. Most people think that they should call a professional to remove even the smallest infestation, but this is not true. If you’re on a budget and you know how to do it safely, removal of small mold colonies can be easy and wallet-friendly.

8. Most mold doesn’t need a steady supply of standing water to grow. In fact, most molds don’t require more than the amount of condensation that forms on the outside of your glass when you’re having a cold drink after work, if that much. The tiny water droplets that form inside your bathroom after a shower and stick to your wall are usually enough to nurse mold spores to life.

Article By Mold Repair - Wet Carpet Extraction