Water damage comes in many shapes and sizes, from localized damage following a burst pipe or roof leak to severe flooding. If your home has recently experienced a heavy rainfall event, then you may be in the process of picking up the pieces and trying to determine what you can salvage. While this process is never easy, it can help to understand where you'll need to make decisions about repair vs. restoration.

Why Can't You Just Dry Your Things Off?

While it's evident that many parts of any home affected by severe flooding will need repair, you may want to try to save some of your belongings. In some cases, this may be possible. Unfortunately, many people underestimate the damage that floodwaters can cause. If you had several inches of water inside your home, then many of your belongings were likely submerged for at least several hours.

Drying items in this condition requires more care than you might expect. You need to remove moisture quickly and thoroughly to avoid creating conditions for mold or other hazards to take root. It's also not always easy to determine when an item might be salvageable. You may spend significant time and effort drying your belongings, only to find them still ruined.

More importantly, floodwaters can pose many unseen hazards. Water during a flood is rarely clean, and water damage experts typically treat flood-exposed items similarly to items exposed to sewage. In other words, you need to take proper care when both handling and drying flooded belongings to avoid creating a significant health hazard.

How Can Restoration Experts Help?

Water damage restoration professionals know how to deal with homes affected by floodwater. They can help you with the process of evaluating your home to determine which items you can save and which ones you'll need to throw away and replace. If you have particularly cherished belongings, a professional can also discuss options for effectively cleaning and sanitizing them, if possible.

Professional restoration also helps you avoid long-term issues from performing the work incorrectly. Bringing damp items back into your home can mean allowing mold spores to take root and spread, and this issue can become much more severe if your home still has any damp areas. Part of the restoration process involves thoroughly inspecting your home to avoid leaving any significant moisture behind.

Remember that severe floods are never a matter to take lightly, even if only a few inches of water entered your house. Experts can help you save as many of your belongings as possible while also reducing the risk of floodwaters creating a long-term health hazard in your home. Reach out to a water damage restoration service if your home has flooded. 

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