Flooding is a major problem for any resident or homeowner. Whether it is water coming from the outside or a main water line break inside the home, there are important tips to saving you time, effort, and money in addressing your flood problem. Royal Restorations, LLC is a company that specializes in flood restoration, servicing the greater Baltimore, Washington DC , and Virginia areas. We provide flood restoration services, sell restoration cleaning products, distribute cleaning equipment, and help advise clients with professional advice in cleaning up a flood. Below are important tips when addressing flood damage, whether you choose to hire a company or choose to perform flood restoration clean-up yourself..

Step1. Call landlord or leasing Office and Find out where the water is coming from and stop its main flow of function: If you arrive home with a major water break, you need to be careful in deciding if it is safe to enter the home. Once you have identified where the water is coming from, you know how to address the problem. If the water is coming from the outside, you need to call a water damage repair specialist for a full evaluation. These companies are usually equipped. with 24 hour emergency service dispatch. If the water is from a toilet, hot water tank, fish tank, water bed, a water pipe break, or from any other water running mechanism inside the home, you need to cut off its main water supply, or fix the leak to stop the water from running. This may require you to call your landlord, leasing office, or even a plumber in helping aid you in shutting off your home equipment. If you rent a piece of property, you need to contact the owner of this property ASAP. Insurance and protection by state laws should be evaluated ASAP. Our suggestions follow our flood restoration steps at he end of this article.

Step 2. Get the flood water out of the home and dried out as soon as possible: Once the main water flow has been shut off, or you have contained the water coming from the outside, you need to start extracting the water out of the home. You can call a full service 24 hour emergency carpet flood restoration company to assist you with the extraction of flood water. A full service carpet extraction cleaning company should be familiar with your flood restoration needs and proper methods in treating you carpet, padding, and other damaged items throughout the home. Here are some good questions when calling a company for service.

A) Does your company use a truck mount system when extracting the flood water from my home? This is important only if you desire no heavy portable extraction equipment in your home. A truck mount system is more powerful and faster to operate during a flooded situation.

B) What is your response time? The faster the company can get there, to help you, the better. You should ask their rate for both emergency 24 hour dispatch service and their normal business hour rate. A good reference to compare (Royal Restorations rate is $95.00 per emergency hour and $65.00 during normal business hours).

C) Is your company IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification ) certified? This is helpful, to determine that the company will know how to properly address your flood problem. The IICRC certification is the highest training available in the field and you can be sure your flood will be addressed in a professional manner.

D) Does your company carry a full line of professional floor fans, and dehumidifiers for the drying out process of a flood? This is always a good question. You want the damaged areas dried out properly to assure minimal problems with mold and other bacteria growth. A company will always leave behind fans and a dehumidifier to properly dry out the areas of concern. The thing to remember is to ask questions on the equipment that is left behind (post water extraction). It will be up to the resident not to turn equipment off during the drying process. The reason this is brought up, is that we sometimes run into non-cooperative residents who can't deal with the noise of floor fans and dehumidifiers running at night. The equipment left behind to operate can only work if it is left on to do its job.

E) Does you company carry the restoration water device "The Water Claw"? This water restoration tool is for the extraction of water deep in the padding and sub flooring under the carpet. This can save the customer hundreds of dollars while the extraction company extracts the water from the carpet and the carpet padding at the same time. This device can be used in many flood cases. It will eliminate the need for you to remove carpet padding and save you money. Circumstances surrounding your flood will depend on whether this tool is used. Your cleaning restoration company should be able to answer these questions for you while on site.

F) Will your company properly disinfect, and enzyme treat all water damaged areas? Your carpet, padding, sub-floor, furniture, and other items will need to be properly flushed and chemically treated. Be sure a company can explain in full detail about any cleaning chemical used. Also if you want a full evaluation of any product a company uses, ask to see a MSDS sheet on any product they use. State laws require a company to have these on file for customers. To see Royal Restorations, LLC products, MSDS sheets and full explanation of chemicals sold, please browse our product section.

G) Does your company move furniture and clean up drywall, and perform other disaster clean up tasks? It is really convenientto have one company complete 99% of your flood damage repairs. This simplifies the process and provides you with assurance that nothing is being missed. Royal Restorations, LLC does it all. We water extract (truck mounted units and water claw capable), move furniture, wrap furniture for protection, take daily humidity and moisture readings, disinfect, enzyme treat, completely dry out areas (fans and dehumidifiers), disaster clean up, drywall repairs, paint, and provide full maid services.

H) What is your company policies on dealing with insurance companies? Ask about payment policies for flood damage claims, and the terms of payment..

I) Does your company take daily humidity and moisture readings? Upon more severe flooding, a company will need to take daily readings of humidity inside the home, and even on the walls to detect moisture. Each day they come back to take a reading, it is documented evidence that your residence is drying out properly. Insurance companies have a high regard for companies that offer this service. This protects a claim and will provide the customer with proof of actual results, and efforts in addressing the flood. Make sure a company carries a moisture detector and a daily humidity instrument. Be sure all readings are documented and request a copy each time they enter your home. A certified water restoration company will advise you on whether you need to have these readings done. We typically provide both readings in areas that are flooded with over 50 gallons of water. However, a humidity reading can be done with any flood to assure rapid dry time. The moisture detector is to read moisture inside a wall structure or the foundation of the home. This will indicate damp areas inside a seemingly dry wall. Please refer to attached pages on principles of drying, categories of water, and classes of water damage to evaluate desired water damage needs. We also have attached a psychometric chart and daily record log sheet for your convenience. You may call Royal Restorations for instructions on using these charts.

If you are attempting to clean up and treat a flooded area yourself, first make sure you are using a good duel 2 stage or 3 stage vacuum motor extraction machine. This will assure a good water flow rate. Spray wet areas with a carpet enzyme cleaner pre-extraction. Fully extract water from areas. Spray enzyme and/or disinfecting agent on carpet and steam clean for proper flushing and disinfecting of areas. Pull carpet back after major extraction of water, to see how wet your padding is under your carpet. If the pad is saturated (feeling and sounding like a wet sponge) you will need to pull the padding out and dispose of it. You can clean carpet one last time before fan placement. Place a floor fan under the carpet, blowing and producing an air flow on sub flooring. The more fans the better. The more air flow you have generating, the faster the room will properly dry. You may then want to place a dehumidifier in the center of the room for rapid dry time. Fans and dehumidifiers can be rented at any Home Depot, and most Rental centers throughout the country. You may call Royal Restorations, LLC with any question you may have.

Step 3. Evaluate what categories your flood falls into: You can see attached pages to determine what principles of drying, categories of water, and classes of water damage your specific flood falls into. Find out what category and class of flood you are dealing with by reading the attached Water Removal Sheet. Once you know this information you will know what steps will be needed by your restoration specialist.

Step 4. Upon post cleaning and dry out, you want to move furniture back into placement and evaluate areas for mold and bacteria growth. Your restoration specialist will come for a final walk through to evaluate areas for any mold or bacteria problems. If areas were treated , wet drywall removed and properly treated for mold, and fans and dehumidifiers were properly used, mold and bacteria should not be a problem. Checking for color changes in wall textures and carpet fibers may indicate mold and bacteria growth. This can simply be addresses by using an EPA regulated disinfected cleaner. Royal Restorations is a proud distributor of Double Mint, which is an EPA regulated disinfectant cleaner, which will address these issues, both by wipe down and extraction method of cleaning. All molds to be properly treated must be saturated with disinfecting solutions and extracted or thoroughly rinsed cleaned. We recommend enzyme application post disinfecting cleaning to assure no natural organic growth accurse post cleaning. (Enzyme application will prevent further growth of pathological agents that may have been missed while disinfecting areas in cracks, creases and hidden areas that are sometimes hard to reach). Post cleaning and drying out may not eliminate odors completely. Royal Restorations odor neutralization products were specifically designed for your needs. You may purchase these items in our shopping section. Please see Royal Restorations Product Section for full description of our professional chemicals.

We stongly urge you to check into your lease agreement, and state laws on protecting residence in flood damage repairs. If you rent an apartment you more than likely were asked to open and file an apartment insurance document with the main office when you signed your lease agreement. If you waived this suggestion upon leasing your apartment and do not carry apartment insurance, than the property may only be liable to repair damaged pipe etc. This of course depends on a great number of circumstances. Your damaged goods could be a separate matter. If the flood is caused by properties negligence, then you more than likely are covered by your lease agreement. Again, contact you landlord, property management, or home owner ASAP upon flood identification. Review properties flood and insurance policies carefully. All home owners should contact there insurance companies as soon as a flood is detected. Your insurance company should know everything that is going on. They may have advice, suggestions, and even restrictions on servicing your flood. It is important to stay in constant contact with your insurance company before, during, and post flood restoration.