Prepare Now To Prevent Water Damage Cleanup

Before you take off a road trip, you check the tire pressure. You change the batteries in the smoke alarm every six months. And, after years of training, you almost always remember your reusable bags before a grocery store runs. Since home water damage cleanup can be so expensive, take time now to check some vulnerable areas in your home. Make a plan to react to potential problems. 

Water Damage Cleanup In Cedar Rapids

Do You Know How To Shut Off Electricity?

If your interior floods, protect yourself and your family by shutting off all the electricity to the areas with standing water. Even if the flood waters have not reached the outlets, eliminate the risk of someone getting electrocuted. If the flood waters are already close to the electrical entrance box, call the power supplier in your location and have them disconnect the electrical supply to your home. Be very careful when dealing with electricity during a flood. 

While you should know how to turn off the electrical breakers, take the time now also to investigate how to turn off the water at the street. You never know when you’ll need to know how.  

Inspect Your Sump Pump

Regularly checking your sump pump can help you prevent flooding in your home. Clean the pump and pit, and test it by pouring water into it. Make sure that the discharge hose is delivering the water for several feet away from your home to a well-drained area that slopes down from your house. If the outlet is too close to the foundation of your home or is on flat ground, the water can drift back towards the house and drain down into the foundation. Or better yet, call a professional water damage restoration team in to inspect the system and help you manage future risk. 

Prevent Sewer Backup

Sewer backups usually occur when storm water enters the sanitary sewer, causing the system to overload. This overload causes a back flow into the house, usually through the basement. To prevent this from happening in your home, have a Challis technician plug or cap all sewer openings in the basement: floor drains, sinks, showers, toilets. Be proactive and call for help now. 

Prevent Basement Seepage

Reseal your basement. Water in the basement is often caused by cracks in building foundations or floor slabs. If you notice water seepage after heavy rain when you’ve never had a problem, it may mean that your once-waterproof cement floors and basement walls have deteriorated. Painting vulnerable areas with water sealant can prevent seepage.

Monitor The Landscape 

Make sure water drains away from the building. Over time, soil settles in the garden and can direct water toward the building. It is especially noticeable after a storm if the ground is already saturated. Watch your yard when it rains for low areas that 1) don’t drain or b) send water into your home. When rainwater flows towards the building, it can go down the outside of the foundation wall through any cracks.

No matter what steps you take to protect your home, there is always a potential for water damage and cleanup costs that follow. If your home suffers from a broken pipe or flood, call in as soon as possible. The team at Challis Restoration in Cedar Rapids understands the restoration and recovery process – from first-aid measures and emergency response to technical services and total reconstruction. Over 25 years of experience If you have any questions regarding water damage cleanup, storm damage restoration, sewage damage repair, or flooding cleanup call them as soon as you can!