Is It Safe to Live in Your House after a Flood cleaning
Flooding at home can be devastating. Depending on the intensity of the flooding, it has the potential to lock you out of your house for a couple of days, weeks, months, or worst case scenario you may be vacated for good. In some situations, the help offered by flood cleaning experts may not be sufficient to make the house habitable again.
In a best case scenario, the damage may be relatively light, and you could be back in the house immediately after the flood cleaning is over. The answer to whether or not it is safe to live in your house after a flood depends on a couple of factors. Below is a brief look at when it is safe and when it may not be safe to live in your house after a flooding incident.
What to do immediately after a flooding incident?
What you do immediately after a flooding incident will go a long way in how you handle the overall situation. When you experience any form of flooding, the first thing you should always do is to ensure the safety of everyone. This supersedes salvaging items from the flood. The next step is to make careful documentation of the flooding for insurance purposes.
You can take photos or videos of the damage, but only if it is safe to do so. If the flooding is severe, the best cause of action would be to call for flood cleaning experts in Montreal and ask them to help you with the documentation before they start the actual flood cleanup. Then once everyone is safe, and you have taken sufficient documentation, the next step is to deal with the flooding aftermath which may include water damage cleaning and restoration.
When to live in your house after flooding
If you have experienced a small flood that didn’t cause a lot of structural damage and you were able to clean up and clear everything with or without the help of professionals, then your home may be safe for habitation after the flooding.
When the flooding was occasioned by a burst pipe, damaged gutter, or a leak within the plumbing works, these can be rectified to prevent future flooding. Also, when they are detected in good time, they may not cause a lot of structural damages that may compel you to vacate the building because it is unsafe for human occupation.
When not to live in your house after flooding
When the flooding causes a lot of structural damage to your house, it may not be safe to continue inhabiting that house unless all the repairs have been done. This is usually in the case of severe flooding that leaves a trail of destruction in its path. Various structural components of the house may fall victim. If you feel that the structural integrity of the house might have been compromised, or you are advised by an expert not to continue living at home, then you should keep out until everything is fixed.