A home has many aspects to both the structure and what people choose to put in the various rooms. As a result, there’s a lot to consider and worry about when severe water damage happens.
A flood, for example, can fill a home, and if that happens, what can you expect? How will the different parts and things in your residence be affected by the water damage, and what should you do about it?
Be Prepared For Residential Water Damage
Your Home’s Electrical System
If a home is flooded, then one of the first severe casualties is likely to be anything electrical in the structure. This includes the wiring, as well as electrical switches and outlets the wiring may be attached to.
Electricity and water are a bad mix; so often, it’s impossible to repair wiring or a building’s circuit breaker board as these items were never intended to be submerged.
Most retail electronic products aren’t water-resistant except for certain mobile devices such as specific models of cellular phones or laptop computers. This includes desktop computers, televisions, kitchen appliances like microwave ovens and food processors, and a host of others. These will all need to be replaced.
Your Home’s Carpets
This depends on both the scope of the damage and the speed of recovery. For example, if the carpet on the floor has been only partially subjected to flood damage, it’s possible to salvage it and continue to use it after a flood. However, if a carpet has been submerged, recovery may not be possible.
Carpets can only be recovered if conditions permit a salvage. If you can salvage a carpet within 48 hours of the flooding, the chances of saving it are good. Anything more than two days, however, and it’s unlikely to be recovered.
Your Hardwood Floors
Hardwood floors are in a similar position to carpeting, although here, the potential damage is different. Water damage for a hardwood floor can also include warping the wood, which means it won’t sit smooth and snug as a walking surface anymore.
Unlike carpets, however, hardwood floors can be completely submerged but still recoverable. Also, unlike carpets, the grace period before salvaging a hardwood floor is less forgiving. About 24 hours is the limit before it’s likely you’ll have to tear out and replace the floor.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are often the most expensive part of any kitchen, so it’s understandable there would be concern about salvaging something worth thousands of dollars. However, the recoverability of kitchen cabinets depends a lot on how much you invested in the cabinets, to begin with.
If the cabinets are on the low-end of the scale, such as particleboard or other artificial, composite materials of lower cost, water damage is likely to be significant and impossible to recover from, requiring replacement.
On the other hand, if a cabinet is more premium, made with hardwood, the odds of salvaging the cabinet, drying it out, and continuing to use it are much higher.
Call Us For For a Free Water Damage Estimate
If you need an assessment of water damage in your home, contact us. We can help.