Many people say that a fire is better to have than to have to deal with repairing water damage. The problem with repairing water damage is that there are so many other issues you have to consider before your repair is actually complete, hence in many cases it would have been easier if there had been a fire. Water damage comes in many forms from simple seepage through cracks or weaknesses in your foundation to leaky pipes or full blown flooding from broken pipes, water related devices like your water heater or sump pump or even external water related damage from flooded rivers, lakes or backed up drains.

The steps to repairing water damage depends extensively on how extensive the water infiltration was and which areas of the house are affected. Another factor affecting the method of repair is what kind of water caused the damage in the first place, was it water from an internal plumbing source (pipe, water heater, water softener, or sump pump) or water from a ground water source (ground water through the foundation), lake or river or from a sewer or septic source?

While the beginning steps are similar there are additional steps necessary to make the proper repairs to your particular water damage. The first step in repairing water damage is the system of removal of all items affected by the water damage including furniture, decorations, boxes, clothing, window treatments and pictures or artwork on the walls.

Once the area is cleared you need to remove as much water as possible via mopping (in the case of smaller amounts of water) or vacuuming with a wet/dry shop vacuum and or pump system.There are many submersible pumps that you can hook to a regular garden hose that you can direct to a lower area to get excess water out so that you can use the shop vacuum to get the rest. You can rent commercial vacuums that will have greater suction to remove more water from any carpeting or padding that will reduce the overall drying and dehumidifying time.

Once you have removed as much water from the affected areas as your equipment will allow then you will need to bring in several high velocity fans (depending on the size of the area) to facilitate thorough drying of carpet, baseboards and drywall. You will need to let these run on high for several days in conjunction with a high capacity dehumidifier to get the interior air back to the right humidity and prevent the growth of mold.

The use of a humidity meter will allow you to test your baseboards and various levels of your drywall to see if you are achieving the results you need or whether you need to add more fans or an additional dehumidifier.

During this entire process you will have to go over any furniture, window treatments or pillows from couches that need dried and cleaned as well. Any furniture that stood in water will need to be wiped down and once dry checked for any water marks or stains that will need repairing. There are many furniture restorers that can give you estimates on cleaning and repair of especially valuable furniture. In many cases you can take care of water stains on wood with Murphy’s Oil Soap and almost any commercial carpet cleaner can get stains out of fabric in the furniture. Did you ever have to deal with ceiling water damage?

You will need to contact a carpet cleaner anyway as you will need them to come and thoroughly clean the carpet once it is dry to your satisfaction and apply an antimicrobial compound along with an odour remover to finalize your repair. I would suggest using non-water based carpet cleaner as you have already removed a bunch of water recently and I would not recommend getting it all wet again to finish the repair. ChemDry is an excellent company that provides restoration services for carpet and furniture along with cleaning services.

As written before there are additional considerations depending on the type of water damage you have. If you have issues with water seepage through your foundation, you may have to get the services of a basement waterproofing company to come in tell you how to fix the water damage problem. In worst case scenarios, repairing water damage may require excavation around your foundation to provide relief from water seepage.

Check our car water damage hub to see some alternative effects of water damage.