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How to minimise the damage caused by a flood in your home

How to minimise the damage caused by a flood in your home

How can you tell if you have flooding in the home?

Last week we received a call from Mrs Mannus. She’d noticed that the wall by her kitchen door had been changing colour. When she gave it a poke with her finger, the plasterboard crumbled.

In the first instance, Mrs Mannus called her husband to take a look. He prodded it and watched as more plasterboard crumbled away. He pulled the skirting board off, took up a few floorboards and with each one, he found more damp flooring. He followed the water, removing a couple of kitchen units and some more skirting board. And he watched in dismay as he realised the extent that the water had travelled.

They called their insurance company who advised them to give us a call to help them identify the source of the leak (without causing any further damage to their home). Their story isn’t unique.

At this time of year, it’s not just those living near waterways or on floodplains that find themselves dealing with flooding in the home. A flood can just as easily be caused by a cracked pipe. Of course, there are easier ways to identify the source of a leak than by pulling your home to pieces bit by bit.

I had something similar happen to me some years ago. I stepped into my hallway to find my new Amtico flooring floating. Home flooding from a leaky or split pipe is more common than you realise, but what do you do to limit the damage if it ever happens to you? Here are the first 9 things you should do to limit the damage that flooding in the home can cause.

What to do if you have flooding in the home

  1. Shut off the water. This is important even if your flooding is from rainwater as it will help prevent drains from backing up and causing further flooding in the home.
  2. Take pictures before you begin the restoration process. This will help to document the damage for discussions with your insurer.
  3. Wear protective clothing to protect you from any contaminants, whilst you clean up the worst of the water.
  4. Place squares of aluminium foil under the legs of your furniture to avoid colour running into the carpet and leaving a permanent reminder.
  5. Lift curtains and tack up furniture skirts to protect them from becoming spoiled or stained.
  6. Throw out any food that the water may have come into contact with, including sealed packets and tins.
  7. If water is coming through a leaking roof or window, cover the roof or window with a tarp or boarding to limit any further water intrusion.
  8. Call your insurance company and get approval for any remediation work needed as result of flooding in your home.

Then give us a call our 24-hour helpline and we’ll come out and appraise the damage and give you a quote. We aren’t just about flooding restoration. If, like my friend, you’ve been unable to identify where water is coming in to your property, we can also help you to find the cause of the flood,

Once you’ve got the go-ahead from your insurance company to instruct a flood restoration company, you with just one call to our 24/7 hotline on 01624 422 488 will get you the help and support you need to deal with flooding in the home, as quickly as possible. With over 60 branches of Rainbow around the UK, we’re bound to have a branch near you.

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