"My House Is Soaked What Do I Do?"
Living in Manhattan or Brooklyn or Queens? It doesn't matter whether you are a janitor or an investment banker, a couple of inches of water on your floor is a disaster. Whether you simply neglected a running bath too long or some recent storm soaked your carpet in water several feet deep; repairing water damage requires immediate and deliberate action on the part of the homeowner. People too often fail to take the appropriate steps to repair water damage. Many fear the expense not thinking that as every minute ticks by, the costs of repair and the damage done to your home increases. Fast action is called for.
Sure, water damage restoration may be an expensive process but cost varies widely depending on the severity of the damage and how quickly the homeowner decides to do something about it. Water damage clean up is not fun. However, failure to act against water damage can jeopardize the value of your home, your greatest asset, and even put the health of your family at risk. So if you are sitting at home now looking at a flooded basement or a soaked carpet and wondering what you do, take it one step at a time and work your way through this 9 step action plan:
1. Shut off your electricity. I cannot emphasize this enough. Water, electricity, and the human body don't play well together. Be wary of power failure as the power can suddenly come back on.
2. Check your walls for signs of structural damage. Drywall doesn’t like lots of water and prolonged exposure to moisture can lead to both rot and mold.
3. Turn off gas to the house. It is better safe than sorry.
4. Take pictures for insurance purposes. This is good just in case you decide to file a claim. If you are going to report it you want to do it within the first 24 hours but don’t call your insurance company just yet. More on this a little later.
NYC news from the New York Times
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