Anyone who has experienced water damage in their home knows the utter devastation it can wreak. There is, of course, the initial shock of furniture, clothing, and person effects being destroyed. But, anyone who has been through a flood before knows that that is just the beginning. Suddenly, you are looking at carpeting that must be torn up and replaced and walls that must be assessed for water damage. It is possible that walls will need to be torn down, linoleum, cabinetry and fixtures replaced. Then, there is the concern, of whether your homeowner’s insurance will cover all of the costs of repair and if you actually are covered by any sort of flood insurance. That said, it is important to realize that devastating water damage can occur from within the home, as well as from a natural flood disaster. A homeowner can suffer a pipe burst, a roof leak or a water tank rupture that can cause a significant amount of damage as well.
There are many good reasons for calling in a professional to handle your home clean-up. The first is that they will have the equipment you need to start restoring your home. Often large, industrial fans are brought in to initiate the drying process, and they may need to run for several days. Removal of wet carpet is heavy, hard work which you probably don’t have the appropriate tools for as well. The next problem comes with the debris that will accumulate as you sort out personal possessions and tear up flooring and drywall. This is not the sort of “trash” that your local garbage collection company will handle. You will probably need a container brought to your home so that it can be filled efficiently without multiple day trips to a land fill. (Assuming you have a vehicle capable of carrying large quantities of debris, of course.)
A professional restoration expert, such as Integrity Restorations, http://integrityrestorations.com, specializes in Water Damage Cleanup in Lockport, IL and can take care of all of these details for you. There will still be much for you to do in terms of salvaging personal family memories, and making decisions about what to keep and what to replace. A restoration company will take care of the other, no less important, work, such as extracting as much water as possible from carpets and walls in an attempt to salvage them and save you the expense of replacement.