Tips To Safely Reenter Your Home After A Flood

Floods inside your home are never a safe situation, whether they came from natural forces or an overflowed toilet. Water from floods carries harmful contaminants and bacteria that should never be taken lightly. Moreover, events like this can cause huge hazards that many are unprepared for. Before entering any space that has been flooded, precautions must be taken first to ensure both your health and safety. 

Billings Water Damage Cleanup

When you experience a flooding incident that is severe enough to warrant an evacuation, it’s important to not reenter until it is most certainly safe to do so. Though hazards associated with water damage are best dealt with by professionals, there are some basic tips you can follow if you must reenter your home. 

Be Cautious With Electricity 

Water can be a huge conductor of electricity, which is why water and electricity are such a dangerous combination. Buzzing wires after a heavy storm or flood is usually an indicator of damaged wires or appliances. The noise usually indicates there is a charge present and trying to handle it will send an electrical current through your body. Not only that, but tools, equipment, and even standing water can be electrified, causing damage to your body with a strong shock.

Avoid entering a flooded home until the electricity has been turned off. If your circuit breaker is surrounded by water, reach out to a professional to shut off the electricity to the house. Even if you’ve lost power, you can still be electrocuted in a flooded basement if someone is running a generator nearby and back-feeding electricity into the damaged electrical grid. 

Look For Gas Leaks

Once a flood has occurred in your home, there is a chance that it has caused a gas leak. Unfortunately, water damage can also affect the gas lines in your home, creating a dangerous environment. If you smell gas after a flood, immediately stop what you are doing, leave the property, and call 911 and an emergency service team. While in the home, it’s important to not do anything that could create a spark, including using your phone, turning on or off a light switch, starting your car, etc. Leave the property immediately, then call for help. If there is any chance that there is a gas leak, refrain from entering your home again until it has been inspected by a professional restoration contractor. 

Be Cautious With Food And Water

Unfortunately, floods contaminate just about everything it comes in contact with. After reentering your home, do not eat or drink anything that is unsealed in your home, as it may contain bacteria from the water. Though bottled water and canned foods may be fine, discard anything that has been exposed to the flood. 

Call For Professional Help

At the end of the day, the most important thing to keep in mind is your safety. Do not enter a home that has the potential to risk your safety. Professionals at Faithful Cleaning in Billings can assist you with water damage cleanup. They know how to safely remove water and any problems that come along with it. Allowing experts to help you ensures that water damage cleanup will be done right and it won’t come back to haunt you.