In Flooding

Bristol, Kingsport, and Johnson City, TN

We all make mistakes at some point in time in our lives, but if your home or business experiences a flood, then making a mistake during the cleanup can create huge additional costs and hassle. We hope you never experience a significant flood, but if you do, your local Tri-Cities restoration professionals at Spotless Carpet Cleaners want to help by identifying these five common flood cleanup mistakes and ways to avoid them.

Don’t wait too long

Ever heard the old phrase, “He who hesitates is lost?” A flood inflicts the greatest amount of damage on a property within the first 48 hours. The longer the water is allowed to sit, the more potential damage that can be done to systems such as your wiring, plumbing, and HVAC, as well as your walls, carpets, flooring, and belongings. Having your home or business serviced quickly by a professional restoration company can save many of your items.

Hidden hazards

If standing water has submerge the floor of your property, there could be hazards waiting beneath the surface. These hazards may include potential electrical shock, sanitation issues from broken plumbing lines or contamination from bacteria and/or mold, unstable flooring, unseen debris such as broken glass or metal objects, and ruptured gas lines. Before re-entering any property that has sustained significant flood damage, you should contact a professional restoration company that will inspect the property for you to ensure its safety.

Using incorrect tools and techniques

Cleaning up a small leak or flood with household items is one thing. If you have standing water throughout your property, it is impossible to clean up this level of flooding properly without professional help. Even using a shop vac will not get the job done in less than several hours; by that time moisture and mold already have begun to set into your flooring, walls, and belongings. By contrast, a professional restoration company like Spotless Carpet Cleaners can completely clean and disinfect areas in a fraction of the time it would take you to using household items. When you trust a professional restoration company to clean up a flood for you, you can rest easy knowing the job will be done completely and quickly.

Ignoring the small things

Motivational speakers might tell you not to sweat the small stuff, but when it comes to flood cleanup, small details matter. When a property experiences flood damage, the water seeps into everything and can destroy everything it touches. Sometimes, water damage may not show itself until weeks after a flood, when you notice an odd smell or find that toxic black mold has grown in an area you thought had been cleaned in totality. A restoration professional knows to look for water damage that may not be visible to the naked eye, such as subflooring or damage to the interior of furniture.

Not calling the pros

When property owners try to clean up floods themselves, they are going to make mistakes. Only after these mistakes have been made, and more damage has been done, do they call a professional restoration company. The unfortunate reality, however, is that even the most experienced water restoration professional can only do so much in preventing extensive damage. By waiting, your home or business may have sustained damage that results in extensive repairs. If your home or business is flooded and you try to clean up yourself, you may succeed—but the odds definitely will be stacked against you. To save money and gain some peace of mind, contact a professional restoration company like Spotless Carpet Cleaners. Call us at (423) 926-9251 to schedule an estimate from one of our professional, certified restoration technicians. We are available 24/7!

Since 1975, Spotless Carpet Cleaners has served the carpet, cleaning and restoration needs for customers in the areas of Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol, Tennessee.