How to save your home from a flood - East Idaho News
Sponsored

How to save your home from a flood

  Published at  | Updated at
This story is brought to you by Tobin Cleaning & Restoration, a full-service cleaning and restoration contractor based in eastern Idaho that specializes in both residential and commercial disaster restoration and cleaning services.

In the video above, cleaning expert Rhett Judy talks about dealing with a flood in your home.

First step when you find a flood

Right off the bat we ask him about the first step to take when you discover a flood.

Judy says the first step is to get that water stopped. If you come home and find a flood in your basement, then turn off the main water supply to the house. If it’s a leaking fridge or toilet, then shut off the main water supply to just those. If, however, you find that the water is coming in from the outside, like rainwater, then the best thing to do to get that water stopped is to call a professional.

tobin flood2

Call the professionals or call insurance?

And that brings us to the next question, of whether you should you call your insurance agent before calling the professionals.

According to Judy, you call the professionals first. Most of them will respond within an hour, and they can alleviate a lot of the damage by quickly getting the flood under control.

Safety hazards of a flood

With this whole flood ordeal, we wonder how safety plays into it all.

Judy answers that a lot of people don’t realize the safety hazards involved in a water loss. One of the big ones is electrical, with water sometimes coming through the ceiling and around outlets. Another hazard, though, is the dirty, bacteria-filled water coming in from the outside. Judy says the outside water is considered a category 3, which is the same category as sewer water. A lot of people don’t realize how harmful outside water can be.

Restoring items with sentimental value

In the end, when the flood is handled and the damage is being assessed, we ask Judy how he deals with items of high sentimental value.

This situation is far from hopeless, as Judy talks of technology they have to clean those items and restore them back to pre-loss conditions. One of the new technologies, for example, is the Esporta washing machine, which Judy has had a lot of success with.

tobin flood1

SUBMIT A CORRECTION