Step Two of Drying Out Water Damaged Properties

The second half of the drying process of water damaged homes or buildings should begin by removing any water damaged items from the home like furniture, paintings, photographs, and etcetera and allowing them to dry out outside the home. Squeeze as much water as possible out of couch cushions and try to leave them outside in the sun for as little time as possible, because sun damage can also occur if they’re left exposed for too long.

If the floors of your home are covered in mud or silt, washing them with clean water is usually the only solution. Don’t rush the drying of the floors or what is called warping or buckling and if you can, remove any insulation from under the floor to allow air to circulate. Rapid drying of hardwood floors by using heating, air conditioning, or other forced air to help dry the floors can cause cupping. Completely drying them naturally can take weeks or months.

Any electrical components in the house, like AC outlets, should be replaced if the water level was high enough to damage them. Again, make sure there is no electricity running to that area of your building or even to the entire building itself. When dealing with flooded properties, the possibility of electrocution is great.

Don’t be so quick to remove all the water in your basement. The walls of the basement could collapse due to the ground outside that is still saturated with water and the water still standing in your basement could be the only thing stopping this. After the water around the house has drained away, pump out two or three feet, mark the water level, and wait until the next day. If the water level in the basement rises, don’t continue pumping out the water.

In most cases, washing wet mud away from objects with clean water before drying them is a good idea. Unless it’s an antique item of special significance, this is generally the way to go. If it does fall into the category of antique or historic, consult a specialist as quickly as possible.

Air circulation through the building is essential to drying it out entirely. Heaters should not be used and air conditioners should be used sparingly, if at all. Forcing the building to dry unnaturally can possibly cause even more damage.

Do You Know How To Eliminate Standing Water In Your Front And Backyards

Standing water in the front or the back yard can be an eyesore for both the homeowner and other people in the neighborhood, but it is not typically something that cannot be remedied. Depending on the source of the problem, it can be solved usually by either installing a drainage system or by the addition of a bit of soil in the right areas.

Allowing standing water in your yard, especially around the foundation of your house, can be detrimental both to the value of the property and to the structural integrity of the home. Water collecting in pockets around the base of the house can seep down into the basement or cause the house to slowly sink into the ground due to soil displacement over time. Wet soil does not form a good foundation for a home, so you need to try and fix this problem as soon as you run across it.

Many times simply piling soil in the areas where the water collects will fix the problem, since it is usually a simple issue of elevation. Some areas of your yard may not be the same elevation as other parts and water collects in these spots. Putting soil in these and planting grass over them not only for a pleasing visual effect, but also to keep the soil well in place, is the only real way to deal with elevation issues.

Putting in a drainage system is also a good option and it is not that expensive to install. You need a shovel, some gravel, PVC pipe, and a sink strainer. You should not have to hire anyone to do this for you, since all it takes is a little common sense and a bit of effort. You do, however, need to make sure that you obtain a permit to install the drain system, depending on where you live. Some areas may require that you get a permit to install a drainage system in your yard and want you to ask permission before directing the water into a city sewer or ditch.

Dig the ditch starting at the part of the yard that you want to drain and dig it to the area you want the water to go to. This ditch should slant downhill so that the water does not simply stand inside the drain and go nowhere. To get an adequate amount of water flow, it should decline 6 inches for every 100 feet. Install the PVC pipe inside it and cover with gravel. Cover that with soil and plant grass over it. This should keep the water drained well, but if you need more than one spot in your yard drained, the construction may be a little more complicated