"My House Is Soaked What Do I Do?"
All kinds of water damage can happen to the homeowner living in Houston or in nearby coastal towns like Galveston. Whether you simply neglected a running bath too long or the recent Hurricane out of the Gulf flooded your carpet in water several feet deep; repairing water damage requires immediate and deliberate action on the part of the homeowner. People frequently fail to take the appropriate steps to repair water damage out of fear of the expense.
Indeed, water damage restoration may be an expensive process but cost varies widely depending on the severity of the damage and how quickly the homeowner decides to do something about it. Water damage clean up is not fun. However, failure to act against water damage can jeopardize the value of your home, your greatest asset, and even put the health of your family at risk. So if you are sitting at home now looking at a flooded basement or a soaked carpet and wondering what you do, take it one step at a time and work your way through this 9 step action plan:
1. Shut off your electricity. Be wary of power failure as the power can suddenly come back on.
2. Check your walls for signs of structural damage. Drywall doesn’t like lots of water and prolonged exposure to moisture can lead to both rot and mold.
3. Turn off gas to the house. It is better safe than sorry.
4. Take pictures for insurance purposes. This is good just in case you decide to file a claim. If you are going to report it you want to do it within the first 24 hours but don’t call your insurance company just yet. More on this a little later.
Houston & Texas news from the Houston Chronicle
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07/31/2010 Retired director of shuttle program recalls victories, tragedy Wayne Hale was one of NASA's most tenured space shuttle flight directors and the shuttle program manager from 2005 to 2008. |
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07/31/2010 SW Houston crash kills 4-year-old boy The driver of a white Ford traveling west on Northwest Freeway allegedly ran a red light and crashed into a green Honda and a red Chevrolet, both traveling north on Gessner. |
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07/31/2010 Police looking for gunman in killing outside restaurant An Huu Ho was fatally shot about 1 a.m., outside the Genji Restaurant and Bar in the 7900 block of Westheimer. |
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07/31/2010 Crash with parked 18-wheeler kills pickup passenger The man was a passenger in a black GMC pickup northbound in the 3100 block of West Loop North when the driver of the pickup failed to stay in a single lane and struck the 18-wheeler. |
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07/31/2010 Special forces soldier from Central Texas dies in Afghanistan Capt. Jason E. Holbrook, of Burnet, along with Staff Sgt. Kyle R. Warren, of New Hampshire, died from injuries sustained in the blast Thursday in Tsagay, the Defense Department said. |