subject: What to do when Flooding Occurs in your house? [print this page] What to do when Flooding Occurs in your house?
Well, whether or not there is a plumber around the area, you will have to take action immediately. But what actions are necessary in such a situation?
1. Do a check of the Exterior of your house.
Before you engage in anything, especially before you go inside the house, make sure that you do a run through of the exterior part of your house. First, check to see if there are any gas leaks that can be caused by the leaking water. This is simply done through checking for any smell in the air. Then you will want to check for any cracks that can be caused by some pressure on the walls around the house. Make sure nothing has collapsed or given out due to the flooding. If you see anything suspicious that you are not sure what to do about, call a qualified emergency plumber immediately and hold off on anything further, especially entering the house. If not, go to step 2.
2. Disconnect gas and Electricity of the house
If you are confident that the situation is safe, walk in and do the disconnections that are mentioned above. This is obviously down to making safety the number one priority we all know that water and electricity do not mix, nor do you want any gas leaks. Containing the problem to "just" a flood is important your house can be repaired, but if electricity is involved there could be much more at stake.
Ideally, call a trained professional as soon as possible they may even be able to arrive soon enough to take care of all these safety steps for you.
If you are preparing to do a little bit of home plumbing, some of the most common dangers - especially in a situation where your working area has flooded - is the presence of electric connection in the area. The best thing to do before anything else is disconnecting the electricity to the area. You will also want to disconnect any type of gas connection, just in case. After this is done, some of the other preparations may include:
Dressing appropriately:
One of the most important clothing to have on is boots. Make sure that the boots that you have on are waterproof. Also make sure that the boots you have on will be able to withstand all the sharp objects that may not be visible especially in places like basements. Make sure you have a dust mask on. Some of these places usually accumulate a lot of dust. Gloves are also a good friend when it comes to plumbing, so make sure you have them on. You may also want to wear a hard hat many plumbers will tell you how easy it is to knock your head as you climb out from under a sink!
Tools you may not have thought of
Have the right types of tools for the job. And don't forget that anytime you are planning on doing some manual work, one of the most important tools in your house is a first aid kit. As much as we do not anticipate injury or harm, it will be necessary for any house to have a first aid kit, just in case. A flashlight will also be necessary for many plumbing jobs, particularly when you have had to. Cleaning supplies like brooms and mops are necessary, together with a trash bin, since floods come with a lot of garbage.
You will now be ready to do your repairs. More often than not, people forget to check for these things. Basement repairs need a lot of assistance, so ask yourself whether you are biting off more than you can chew sometimes trying to fix it yourself and failing, might cost you more than a skilled professional would have cost in the first place.
