Call your insurance.
It’s wise to first call your insurance company to confirm that they will pay for the flood damage to your property. Even if they will pay out, some flood cleaning service providers may not wait for that payment. Be prepared to be invoiced directly from the provider, then claiming back later.Remove the surface water.
If the inside of your property is mostly carpeted, you’ll need to use a wet vacuum cleaner to remove the surface water. For safety reasons, don’t use a standard home-use vacuum cleaner. These are meant for dry cleaning only and can be hazardous if they come into contact with water. Some home-use vacuum cleaners are approved for wet vacuuming, but it is advisable that you call a flood-cleaning specialist who’s equipped with the right vacuuming equipment. Flood cleaning specialists will vacuum the carpets until all excess water has been removed. However, the carpet will remain damp for some time. If you have cement or tiled floors, aside from mopping them, wet vacuuming can also be done. Once all the excess water is removed, you can then dry vacuum the surface area to remove dust and dirt. This can be done with a normal household vacuum cleaner.Dry the carpets with specialised drying equipment.
If there is an air-conditioning system fitted inside the property, then it can be used as part of the drying process. The same goes for heaters. But these measures won’t suffice, and flood cleaning service providers can supply blowers which will significantly speed up the process. Even if the carpet feels dry to the touch after a few hours, it probably isn’t. This is because the base of the carpet takes longer to dry. The inconvenience of having to wait at least eight hours for the carpets to be fully dry is unfortunately, unavoidable.De-odorise.
When carpets get wet, they are exposed to humidity, which in turn creates mould and mildew, as well as a damp smell. Unfortunately, an air freshener is not going to do the job in this case. After dealing with the source of the odour, other steps must be taken, such as checking with the carpet’s manufacturer to determine the recommended method for treating and cleaning your carpet. In addition, a flood cleaning service provider will also be able to advise you. An expert carpet cleaning company will be well versed in the correct procedures to deodorise your carpets.Keeping it clean.
Once the proverbial dust (or water) has settled, it is a good idea to get your carpets deep-cleaned once a year, or more, if the carpets are subject to a lot of foot traffic. If another flood disaster strikes, then the clean up will be more manageable. If you’re in need of expert flood cleaning services that are efficient, reliable and expertly rendered, give us a call today.[hs_action id="938"]
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