Commercial Water Damage Don'ts

8/7/2018 (Permalink)

What NOT to do after commercial water damage:

1. Do not enter a room with standing water in it until all electricity has been turned off.
   - Live wires touching water can electrify the water, making standing water in the room very dangerous. Make sure all electricity is disconnected or off prior to entering a room with standing water.
2. Do not use a regular household vacuum to remove water.
   - Regular household vacuum’s are not meant to handle large volumes of water. Sucking up standing water with a household vacuum will definitely break it and potentially cause it to short circuit.
3. Do not attempt to lift tacked down carpet without professional help.
   - Wet carpet is very heavy. Not only could you hurt yourself trying to remove damp carpet but carpet also contains a variety of tacks that can hurt you if you are not trained in pulling it up correctly.
4. Do not use electrical appliances when carpet or flooring is still wet.
   - Exposure to water can cause electrical appliances to short circuit or fail. Since they are not manufactured to be “water proof”, water can easily get into vulnerable areas in the appliances and greatly increase your chance of electrocution or fire.
5. Do not touch or disturb any visible mold.
   - Mold spreads very easily. Mold caused by water is dangerous to you and can have harmful health effects. Make sure you call a mold damage specialist to handle the cleanup and removal of mold so as to not cause harm to yourself or your employees.