how to keep your home smelling fresh with pets

When people think of natural catastrophes, they usually worry about fire, but water can do just as much damage. If your home is damaged by a flood or a water overflow, you'll need to act fast to preserve your belongings and restore your home. Here are four steps you can take to deal with water damage:

1. Pick your things up.

If there's standing water in your home, it can breed bacteria very quickly. The first thing you should do is pick up everything you can, including clothes, toys, books, and other household items. Get the items out of the water and clean them if possible. Wash all textiles and disinfect children's toys. You will have to throw away anything porous that can't be disinfected since it can harbor bacteria picked up by the floodwater.

2. Call a water extraction service.

If your house has flooded, you can't wait for it to evaporate on its own. Floodwater can seep into your carpets and floorboards, causing your floor to warp over time. Call a water extraction service to remove excess water. They'll use special vacuums designed to suck up water. They'll also use industrial fans and dehumidifiers to provide enough ventilation to evaporate the rest of the water. This process can last a few days, depending on the severity of damage, so you may have to stay in a friend's house or a hotel in the meantime.

3. Remove visible mold.

Mold can start to grow surprisingly quickly after a flood. If you don't remove all the water fast enough or if your home has poor ventilation, mold can fester and grow. Your water damage repair service can also perform mold remediation. If you have mold, the first thing your mold removal technician will do is test your home. While visible mold is easy to spot, mold is microscopic and can lurk in places you can't see it. Your mold remediation service will remove all the mold so you can live in a healthier home free from mold spores.

4. Repair water damage.

Even after the excess water and mold are removed, your home will have sustained water damage. Your water damage repair service can remedy this by cleaning and sanitizing the surfaces in your home. After a flood, your house may smell less than fresh. Get rid of the smell of mildew and the odor that comes from a flood; your water damage repair services can use air scrubbers to remove unwanted scents.