How to Protect Your Home from Water Damage after a Storm

You should know how to protect your home from water damage after a storm. The first step is to know when to take action and what options are available for mitigating possible water damage in your home. While flooding can happen at any time, knowing how to protect your home from water damage whether it be before or after a storm can be a much more manageable task.

When a storm enters the area, you might freak out if it’s bad enough to cause flooding in your home. However, some best practices can help prevent your home from water damage after a storm. They include:

• Remove Debris
• Seal Your Basement
• Remove Standing Water
• Fix Leaks
• Eliminate Moisture
• Inspect Your Foundation
• Ensure Mold Doesn’t Grow
• Locate Your Main Water Shut-Off Valve
• Check Your Sump Pump and Battery Backup Systems
• Protect All Doors and Windows with Plastic
• Contact a Flood Restoration Specialist

Remove Debris

After the rain stops, you should begin removing any debris accumulated around your home. If there is already some water damage to deal with, call a restoration company immediately. Whether it’s fallen branches or old leaves, this will help prevent more water from entering your home and making an even bigger mess.

Even if you remove water from your home, there is still the matter of removing excess moisture that has settled into your walls, floors, and concrete blocks. Professionals can do this with high-powered equipment. Do not assume it will repair itself over time if anything should happen because it probably won’t.

Seal Your Basement

One of the most common ways for water damage to occur is through a crack in your basement wall where water seeps inside and settles. This can lead to mold growth which could cause severe problems in the future.

Apply a waterproof sealant to your basement walls to prevent water from seeping in. Waterproofing paint can also be used, but it does not last as long.

Remove Standing Water

Once you have finished removing debris and excess moisture, remove any standing water you come across. Standing water is often the result of leaky pipes or roof damage, leading to problems in your home’s foundation if it stays for too long. While this may involve breaking your floor tiles, it needs to be done.

Fix Leaks

Leak repair should be done as soon as possible. This is to protect your home from water damage after a storm. Even if it isn’t raining, you might have rainwater seeping in from somewhere else on the roof or through walls. If you don’t know how to do this yourself, call a qualified contractor immediately to work on fixing any damage that has occurred.

Eliminate Moisture

If you’ve still got water in your home after the storm has passed, address the issue immediately before any more damage occurs. This may mean ripping out drywall or flooring to properly dry the space.

If you’re unsure how to do this, call a restoration company that will know precisely how to protect your home from water damage after a storm and what measures to take. Before moving forward, they may also recommend replacing some structures, such as your floors.

Inspect Your Foundation

When there is heavy rain, there can be a lot of water accumulation on the ground near your home. That means you might have a pond or a marsh forming near your foundation. It’s essential to check the exterior of your home for any cracks and holes that could let in more water during the next storm.

Reducing the amount of water entering your foundation will help avoid water damage in your home when a storm is approaching.

Ensure Mold Doesn’t Grow

If your home sustains water damage after a storm, you must do everything possible to prevent mold from forming. This includes improving ventilation and using a dehumidifier to lower the humidity level inside your home. That’s because high humidity is a breeding ground for mold.

If you’re not sure how to handle water damage in your home, contact a restoration company with the necessary tools and expertise to work with homeowners on this issue.

Locate Your Main Water Shut-Off Valve  

The first thing you should do is locate your home’s main water shut-off valve. This will be the primary valve that stops all of the water from entering and exiting a home. If a pipe bursts, this will safeguard the rest of your property from damage. All you need to do is turn the valve clockwise until it stops. Then you can move on to other mitigation strategies.

Check Your Sump Pump and Battery Backup Systems

If your sump pump system runs on a battery backup, this is where you should go next. Make sure that the batteries are charged up fully so that your pump system is ready for action when water starts to accumulate in the surrounding areas.

After that, double-check that everyone in the household knows where these items are and how to operate them. You don’t want any accidents or injuries to occur while high volumes of water are entering a home.

Protect All Doors and Windows with Plastic

If you have a home, then the chances are that it’s going to get beat up by the rain and wind. Cover all doors and windows with plastic before high winds start pushing water into your entry points.

Be sure to cover all doors, even if there are no water leaks at the time. That way, you can prevent as much water as possible from entering your home and buy yourself some time to mitigate the damage.

Contact a Flood Restoration Specialist

When you discover water in your home, don’t panic. However, the longer you wait before contacting a flood restoration specialist, the worse it will get. They are experts at dealing with water damage after a storm, and they can prevent any secondary damage from occurring due to moisture.

Reach out as soon as possible because these experts can work fast and prevent a bigger disaster from occurring later on.

Call PuroClean Restoration Specialists to Protect Your Home from Water Damage After a Storm

As a full-service restoration company in Frisco, PuroClean Restoration Specialists has nearly 20 years of experience handling water damage after a storm. We can come out immediately and take care of any issue related to damaged walls, carpets, floors, or other parts of your home that have been destroyed because of water damage.

Our company holds several certifications, awards, and recognition with associations, demonstrating its ability to handle water damage in homes. If you find yourself with damaged walls and floors after a storm, give PuroClean Restoration Specialists a call today.