Water-Damaged: Restoring A Home

Water Damage Service Restoration Minneapolis

You know in our experience after floods many times. People well, the floodwaters will recede and they'll just kind of clean and they think that it can get by without tearing into the walls without removing the drywall. Then a few months later gets wet odors mold growing in the walls

decay and rotten wood structure. There are many potential hazards associated with a flooding event and being aware of all of those or what's so important before you tackle restoring the home, after flooded water even though you feel very desperate to quickly get back in your home and you want to restore your life it can be very very difficult to find a qualified contractor. It is so important to not delay the water cleanup process as soon as it is safe to return to the home. Begin right away and to say I'm in the capacity, you have in your own household. Do you have skills that can be used? Do you have a health condition where that would make it to where you should not be doing the cleanup and restoration work? There are many potential hazards associated with a flooding event and if that was combined with wind or any other kind of hazard that adds to it.

Essentially, flood water damage is considered contaminated Blackwater and it probably has sewage in it and may have chemicals fuel pesticides a variety of things that can be dangerous on contact for the biological contaminant such as from sewage and kinds of exposures. Clean first and then disinfect but of course, you need to wear proper protection to avoid skin contact and to minimize exposure both to the disinfectant as well as to the contaminant where flooding occurs. Moisture wicks up drywall and wood and any porous material in about two or three days of wetness. You are likely to have mold remediation and is a hazard in high exposure for just about anybody but it's especially hazardous to people with asthma allergies other respiratory conditions that are suppressed immune system. So, these folks should not go anywhere and near a moldy home. I'm going to outline ten steps to a safe and effective do-it-yourself from mold remediation cleanup. One is wearing protective clothing including an n95 or better respirator to isolate the moldy area from clean areas and ventilate to the outdoors with a fan in the window. Three, remove porous molding materials because you cannot properly clean them for clean and disinfect. If needed for rising contaminated floodwaters, consider applying a bore a treatment to exposed woods that will help deter decay and as well as mold, as well. Six flush the air to get all these mold spores out of the house as much as possible. Seven, speed the drying process with humidifiers heating cooling systems and get the air dry to hasten the drying of all the materials. Eight, remain on mold alert and be alert to the scent and do visual inspections frequently to find any new growth of mold and deal with it promptly. Nine, do not restore the walls and the floors or anything that's wet until it is really dry or you could have hidden problems later and ten, consider restoring your home with flood water-resistant or flood hearty materials instead of the same kinds of materials that you had to discard.

To begin with, carbon monoxide occurs from burning any fuel and most people know that it is a deadly odorless gas that you cannot detect you may not have any sign of it. Other than the symptoms that can occur and so, high-level carbon monoxide, of course, is deadly but the low level can create flu-like symptoms where you have headaches, and you just feel lousy but then when you leave the home you feel

better. In that case, ventilate but be alert to the potential for the damage that could have occurred to your heating system. Radon is a radioactive gas that comes from the soil and it can build up in a home, so it's not caused by a natural hazard or water damage to your home but the restoration process and that's an opportunity at that point to install a radon mitigation system while you're in the process of putting in new materials, so it can reduce the total cost of doing that at another time. Asbestos is a material that when some of the fibers of it become airborne it can get into lungs and long-term exposure to it and can cause lung cancer and other serious lung diseases. Some older homes could have some products containing asbestos including, you know the flooring which may have been flooded. If the flooring is in good condition, leave it alone and if you can leave it there then, just try to clean and dry. You can cover it with new material and if the asbestos is damaged, however, then that is when you may need to hire a professional if you don't know whether or not you have asbestos. The asbestos abatement professionals can do the inspection or the testing to determine that any time a home has been damaged and that is pre-1978 unless you know there's no lead-based paint in it. A qualified inspector assumed that it's there and even very tiny amounts of lead ingestion by a child from hand to mouth or by breathing in from airborne dust can cause irreversible damage to a child's developing brain. It can damage hearing, it can cause behavior disorders, and reduce mental abilities. It is a serious concern for everyone and should always keep in mind.

Lead can also create problems for adults particularly those with high blood pressure and then high exposure can damage just about every organ so, what that boils down to is anytime you have a home that is damaged that could have lead-based paint, assume that there is lead-based paint dust and use lead-safe work practices in the cleanup process, of course, wear protective gear and respirators but also that means any contractor you hire should be a LEED-certified renovator, that means that they have attended and completed an EPA course and they're registered as knowing how to do restoration renovation painting. Anything that could disturb LED-based paint keeps your family safe and if a homeowner has flood damage insurance that's going to be the number one resource but if they don't then, that's when disaster programs and disaster assistance programs often come into play. But checking with a disaster recovery center in the community that generally is set up by FEMA, is a good first. One-stop-shop to find out what the local resources take the time to evaluate the credentials and the experience of

contractors check with your state, to make sure that they are licensed and make sure they have insurance and if your home is older than 1978,

you really should hire only lead certified renovators who have had special training to make sure that they don't create a bigger hazard through the renovation process.

There are eight principles to keep in mind and to try to achieve to have a truly healthy home now and in the future keep it dry clean pest free safe contaminant-free, well-ventilated, well maintained, and thermally controlled to do more than just restore. Make your home better and it's also a great opportunity to improve the energy efficiency of making your home more resistant or more resilient to natural hazards keep your

family safe.