What to Do If Your Home Floods While You're Away

One of the most destructive and devastating things you can ever experience as a homeowner is a flood. 

There are many causes of household flooding including:

• Heavy rains
• Storm
• Sewer back-up
• Malfunctioning sump-pump
• Burst pipes
• Leaked pipes

No matter what the cause, you must still know what you should do if your house floods, especially when you are away. The moment you get home, taking care of the problem earlier will help reduce the amount of water damage after and will make clean-up and repair easier.

1. Safety First

• You must know how to keep safe when you return to your home to begin dealing with the aftermath of the flood. This may include turning off the power, as water and electricity obviously do not go well together. 
• Be sure to wear protective gear such as rubber boots and gloves. When you enter your home, check that you are fully protected and not touch any things that can pose a potential danger to you. Not only will you be dealing with the water itself, but also whatever else the water has been in contact with such as debris or even sewage.
• Be sure to never eat food that has been exposed to floodwaters, or even near the water for an extended period. If the water was high enough to reach your refrigerator or any of your pantry cabinets, it is the safest practice to throw the food away for safety reasons. 
• Be sure to thoroughly wash any glasses, utensils, and flatware that might have been caught in the house flood before you use it again. You will never know the germs and bacteria present in those.

2. Stopping and Water Removal

One of the first things you should do when your house floods is to stop the source of water coming in if at all possible. However, if you were not around when the flood happens, this could be a problem. It would be best if you can prepare ahead of time instead.

• If your sump-pump is broken or stopped running, replacing it will help keep up with any continuing rains and may prevent further damage to your basement, garage, crawl space, or the main floor. 
• If your flooded home was caused by a burst pipe, have the plumbing fixed as soon as you get home to lessen the water damage. The sooner you stop the water, the sooner you can start cleaning up and repairing any damages.
• If you don’t know what to do, it’s best to ask help from water removal experts instead.

3. Drying Out Your Home

• Even if you are successful in removing all of the standing water from your home, everything will remain wet, especially if heavy rains have increased the humidity in your area. If you have electricity, use your air conditioning and portable fans to help dry the wet areas of your home.
• Dehumidifiers are also a big help, especially in closed-off spaces such as basements, garage, or crawl spaces. However, in the case of a house flood, dehumidifiers are only supplemental and you are likely to need different methods of structural drying. 

4. Clean Up and Repairs

Once the water is gone and you have settled with your insurance company, it’s time to begin post-flood care. Since this is too big of a task, you can call in professional water damage services. They would know what to do in situations like this.

Call ServiceMaster of the Upstate at (864) 310-7891 for a 24-hour emergency service in South Carolina. We are serving Greenville, Spartanburg, Laurens, Newberry, Saluda, and surrounding areas and counties.