How to Cope With a Flood to Your Home or Business

Flooding can happen at any time and anywhere. Winter storms, leaking pipes or rivers that burst their banks can all lead to homes and businesses being flooded. CAS Hire has aided many properties with an urgent need for drying equipment like dehumidifiers and carpet dryers. If you find yourself in an unfortunate position of being flooded, here’s what we suggest that you do.

Turn off your electricity

Water and electricity don’t mix and can be very dangerous. Once you are sure the leak or flood has stopped, locate your mains switch to turn all power off. However, if you have to walk through flooded water to get to the fuse box, call for an electrician.

Personal effects

Retrieve personal items that aren’t damaged or can be dried out. Personal documents like passports, driving licences, photographs, IT equipment – things that are portable. If you live or work in a building with an upstairs, move things upstairs.

Call your insurer

Your insurance premium should cover flooding to your property but check. It is also a good idea to ask your insurer the process of claiming and whether someone needs to visit the premises before you start to clean up.

Start cleaning up once safe to do so

The cleaning up will take some time. You will need to retrieve any water-damaged items and work out if they can be saved. Don’t be too hasty in throwing everything out. Ensure that you are wearing safety equipment. There may be sewage and all sorts of nasty things in the water. After a general cleanup, you’ll need to hire dehumidifiers to reduce the humidity and dry out the flooded area. Dehumidifiers are brilliant at this job, especially industrial ones as they are fast and powerful. You may need at least one for each room. By dehumidifying the air the growth of mould, mite and fungus is reduced as these thrive on dampness and moisture. If the leak isn’t too bad and it looks like carpets can be saved, carpet dryers can be employed to aid the drying process.

Flooding is very destructive and we hope that you never have to deal with flooding to your property. But if this does happen, things will return to normal eventually although specialist drying equipment may be needed for some time to ensure your home or business is structurally sound again and to deter the growth of mould and fungus which can be bad for your health.

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