5 Easy Steps to Take After Your Home Suffers Water Damage

July 14, 2022

Summarize with

Professional water damage repair can combat mold growth before it starts.

Dealing with water damage in your home can be a headache, but it’s something you need to take care of. Leaving water damage unattended can cause serious issues, including the growth and spread of mold and structural damage. When there’s water damage in your home, what do you do? Where do you start? Today, we’re going to take a look at 5 easy steps to take after your home suffers water damage (including who to call for water damage repair in Portland).

Step 1: Give Your Insurance Company a Call

Depending on your policy, any damage that is caused by water might be covered by your insurance company. After you experience water damage in your home, give your insurance company a call. They’ll send an adjuster out to come and assess the damage to see what is covered by your policy. One thing you should do is take photos of everything before, during, and after the cleanup. Document the values of every item in the damaged area. This will help the adjuster assess the situation.

Step 2: Keep Yourself Protected

Water damage can not only damage your property; it can also hurt you in different ways if you’re not careful. There are a few things you need to take care of in order to protect yourself and your family.

Wear protective gear when handling water damage – You should wear things like rubber boots and gloves when handling anything related to water damage. It not only keeps you safe in general, but it also protects you while handling mold.
Shut down your power – If the area near your circuit breaker is safe, shut off your electricity. If you don’t, you may run the risk of being electrocuted or possibly causing further damage to your home. If the area doesn’t seem safe enough to approach, call an electrician who is trained to handle a situation like this.
Remove Any Valuables – If they haven’t been water damaged already, get your valuables out of the way. They can become damaged or provide a place for mold to spread. Getting possessions to either a part of your home that isn’t water damaged or out of the home completely can help protect them.

Step 3: Start the Water Damage Repair Process

As previously mentioned, leaving water damage without trying to repair it can lead to a whole slew of issues with your home. That is why you call a company like PNW Restoration to come out and fix the damage. The process of fixing water damage takes a few different phases and is a time-consuming process.

First, any water-damaged items that can be removed from the affected area will be removed, including any damaged furniture and carpet. This helps minimize the amount of moisture in the area while also helping prevent further mold growth. Next is the dehumidifying process. This helps remove all moisture from the area and prevents water damage from getting more severe. Finally, any repairs that need to be done to the area can be performed.

Step 4: Remove Mold from the Area

While drying out the moisture and making repairs is important, another thing that needs to be handled is mold. Mold can start growing 24 to 48 hours after water damage occurs and can take 18 to 21 days to become visible. Mold spores can grow and spread through your home, causing a number of health issues ranging from coughing to serious respiratory issues. PNW Restoration can remove mold from your home using a special industry-standard cleaner. Mold can’t be removed with just bleach, and having professionals come in to remove mold can help keep you safe.

Step 5: Put Your Home Back Together

Once the restoration process is complete and mold has been removed, the process of putting your home back together starts. You need to assess whether there’s anything you need to hire a construction company to come in and fix, and you’ll want to see what other things need to be replaced, like furniture or other belongings.

If You Need Water Damage Repair, Call PNW Restoration Today

If you have water damage in your home, especially if it’s been caused by a burst pipe or flooding, call the experts at PNW Restoration. Our 24/7 emergency response team is available at all hours to assess your damage and make the necessary repairs. Our team of Portland experts will quickly assist you with any water emergency including flood, plumbing problems, and leaks. If you need water damage repair today, call us at 971-247-3470. When disaster strikes, we provide prompt and professional services that will help you when you need them most.

Table Of Content

Step 1: Give Your Insurance Company a Call

Step 2: Keep Yourself Protected

Step 3: Start the Water Damage Repair Process

Step 4: Remove Mold from the Area

Step 5: Put Your Home Back Together

If You Need Water Damage Repair, Call PNW Restoration Today

For 24/7 Emergency Response call

Water, Mold & Fire Damage Restoration Services in Portland, OR

Call: (503) 352-5209

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       Posted on Google  
   
   Mai Green 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We had an incredible experience with PNW Restoration after discovering water damage in our home. They were incredibly responsive, arriving at our house within a few short hours. As it was our first time dealing with a flood, we were grateful for their thorough approach. Bryan Becker, the Project Manager, and Nick Peterson, the Lead Water Technician, took the time to walk us through the damage and explain their plan to fix it. Throughout the entire process, they clearly communicated every step, ensuring we understood everything. Their daily check-ins were reassuring, and their over-communication, kept us informed and at ease. They even provided invaluable support during the frustrating insurance claim process. We highly recommend PNW Restoration for their professionalism, responsiveness, and excellent customer service. Thank you, Bryan and Nick, for making a stressful situation much more manageable!
  
 
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   Tom Giamario 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Fast  and comprehensive mitigation response. Jakeb is caring and responsive. Kylie and Nick  doing the work were professional and friendly while working hard. Restoration has  been a little more difficult with scheduling and less than reliable subcontractors.
  
 
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   Jennifer Humphrey 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. A recent small leak in a bathroom pipe has turned into a major restoration project. We were referred to PNW Restoration and I am so glad we were. Jakeb Shelton the project manager contacted us immediately and answered all our questions (we are novices) about what to expect from our insurance company and the project. He is handling contact with the insurance adjuster, saving us a multitude of headaches. Every one of the PNW employees who have worked on the demolition phase of our project (Kylie, Nick, Wade, Brett and all the others whose names I can't recall) have been polite, accommodating and unbelievably hard workers. Every question we have asked, no matter how minor, has been answered immediately and satisfactorily. The project continues into the rebuild phase and I am confident the employees we will work with in the future will be just as great. I cannot recommend PNW Restoration more highly. Awesome, awesome customer service, too!
  
 
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   Tim Hoth 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Jake was the project manager and helped take care of a sewer line issue I was having. Brett, Kylie, and Noe came and did a tremendous job making sure all of my furniture and hardwood flooring was covered and took care of doing new vapor barrier and insulation and water cleanup under my house with little room to work in. They were flexible on timing and made sure cleanup was done well!
  
 
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   Jen Jen 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Based on my tenants’ experience with PNW, the company performed quality work and the staff are thoughtful about the tenants’ needs. I am sincerely grateful for this positive feedback.
  
 
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   Steve Nielsen 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Bryan at PNW has been terrific in our repair of our house. Excellent service and responsive. Recommend very highly.
  
 
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   Josie Wolf 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Thank you, PNW for being available on short notice next day bases. We really appreciate you coming out to our location.
  
 
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   Johanna Hastay 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. PNW Restoration came to my rescue after a water damage event required the removal and demolition of my entire kitchen down to the subfloor. Jake was my remediation project manager and his team, especially Wade, Brett, and Matthew were amazing! Everyone has been extremely responsive, helpful, tidy, fun, and supportive during a very stressful time, all while helping me with my insurance company. They are a great company and willing to go above and beyond. They’ve provided all the guidance and care that you could ask for and I look forward to working with them to get the kitchen back up and running.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Lindsay Prange 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Had a great experience with Jake and Bryan from PNW Restoration! They were prompt and professional with scheduling and showed up exactly when they said they would. They got right to work and conducted a thorough inspection of our crawlspace, providing a detailed report of exactly how they could help mitigate our mold concerns. Highly recommended!
  
 
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   Christine McCulloch 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We really appreciate the work that PNW team did when we had major water damage from our attic, 2 floors and the crawl space. They were all extremely professional, always gave me a call to make sure that someone would be home when they came, and they respected the house and space when they were in it. They also outsourced some stuff and made sure those teams also represented them well. In all, PNW team were genuinely wonderful people and made one of the hardest periods of our life, manageable.