If your home has suffered water damage due to flooding or severe storms, you need to act quickly to make sure that you minimize the lasting effects and damage. The faster you respond, the easier the water damage restoration is going to be. Here are some of the things you need to think about immediately following any kind of water damage in your home.

Protect Yourself

Before you go into the house, you need to protect yourself. That means wearing a face mask, gloves, and wading boots. This helps to keep the water and any potential contaminants from affecting you.

Especially with standing water, there's no way to know what's in that water. If it's runoff from a storm, it could flush chemicals, sewer waste, and other contaminants into your home. That's why protecting yourself is so important.

Another key step to protecting yourself is to make sure you have someone with you when you go into the house. Watch out for each other, and watch your step carefully to avoid any injuries from anything you can't see under the water.

Document the Damage

Before you do anything about the water in your home, you need to document the extent of the damage. The best way to do this is to take photos right away once the storm is over or the threat is addressed.

Take photos of every area of your home that has been affected, including clear pictures of anything that may have suffered damage. These pictures will be important for any kind of damage claim for insurance or other documentation purposes.

Call for Restoration

Don't try to attempt any kind of water damage restoration on your own. Water damage restoration is difficult work that needs to be done precisely to ensure that you don't have lasting mold or other problems afterward.

Reach out to a local water damage restoration company. They will know how to remove the water, dry out your furnishings, carpeting, and other structural components, as well as treat the property for any mold that may have started before the restoration process began.

Understanding the first steps that need to follow any kind of water damage is important. The more proactive you can be, and the more thorough you are about taking care of it, the easier the restoration process will be. Talk with a local water damage restoration company today for more tips and guidance to protect and treat your home.