Water damages to homes can be caused by a lot of reasons. Heavy rains can cause the rise in the level of water of nearby rivers and lakes which can overflow and flood houses near them. A leaking roof can cause water from rain to enter the house and may damage the ceiling and the stored items located in the attic. Busted water pipes inside the house may cause flooding and water damage to carpets, wallpapers and other household furniture. Finally, water coming from sewage and drain tanks may overflow and flood the basement. Whatever the cause of the water damage is, the most important thing to do is to quickly fix the situation and perform a water damage restoration immediately.



Water damage restoration is the process of restoring the all the water-damaged items into their pre-soaked conditions. Most water damage restoration jobs are done by certified and licensed professionals who are affiliated with the different fire and water insurance companies. Certified professionals can handle scientifically all water damage restoration jobs that will be required to have recently-flooded homes back to their original states. For homeowners that have homes which have been through severe flooding, acquiring the services of these certified professionals is the decision that they could make. Homeowners can solicit the help of their insurance companies in shouldering the cost which would be incurred in hiring certified restoration experts.

Without water damage or flood insurance, homeowners are burdened with the high costs of hiring a certified professional that they resort to taking the water damage restoration tasks themselves. Although it is not advisable for homeowners to do this delicate process themselves, homeowners must make sure that they do their own water damage restoration properly. Here are some tips that homeowners can use:

(1) When starting water damage restoration to a home, make sure that the source of flooding is eliminated and that no additional water is coming in.

(2) Remove the excess water by pumping it out of the house, moping or wiping the area dry, or by using an industrial wet vacuum.

(3) Always consider the water to be dirty and full of bacteria. Therefore, wet all the soaked items first with clean water mixed with a bleach solution for disinfection. Bleach solution has an oxidizing effect that can eliminate bacteria and mold that have already grown in the soaked items. Bleach solution can also inhibit the further growth of these bacteria and mold.

(4) After cleaning the soaked items with bleach solution, furniture cushions can be dried directly under the heat of the sun. Make sure that the cushions are surrounded by dry air. Hanging them up is the best way to ensure that air can reach all parts of the furniture cushions.

(5) Furniture can also be dried outside. The best way to dry furniture is by placing them on top of small slabs of wood to let the air enter the bottom part of the furniture. Placing them on top of aluminum foils is also a good practice since aluminum foils will reflect the heat of the sun to the bottom of the furniture.

(6) All movable wet rugs, draperies, and carpets should be removed from the floor, cleaned, disinfected, and then hung out to dry.

(7) Books and other documents should be taken out of the house and spread under the sunlight for proper drying.

Water damage restoration is a tedious process but must be done in order to salvage most of the household items that have been soaked in water.