Protecting Your Home During Thunderstorms

Drainage systems become overwhelmed during periods of heavy rain. This means that water may not be effectively directed away from the structures in your property that can result in indoor flooding and compromised structures. When there is heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms there are steps you can take within your home to reduce the chances of indoor flooding and water damage.

1. Ensure gutters are clean

One of the best ways to ensure water is effectively moved away from your house is to have the gutters in the roof checked and cleaned regularly. Particularly if your property is located in areas with lots of trees or prone to getting blocked, we recommend having them cleaned on a regular basis to prevent indoor flooding. Once there are soil deposits, dry leaves, organic matter, rubbish and any other material that results in water being unable to drain, the water will move towards the structures of your home instead and continue to leak inside from the roof. This can cause structural damage to your property as the ceilings can become weak over time and compromised.

2. Check for leaks in the ceiling

You may have experienced a small leak in the ceiling where drops of water continue to fall to the floor. Under these circumstances we recommend using a bucket to collect the water as it drips and once the rainfall has stopped have the tiles of the roof professionally checked to see if one is broken. This staff member will also inspect the ceiling to assess the structural damage and confirm whether anything needs to be fixed.

3. Close all windows

Throughout Kleen-Tech’s years of experience within the flood damage restoration industry we’ve seen severe flood damage occur to offices, warehouses, schools, houses and large commercial buildings due to windows being accidentally left open. This is quite common and unfortunately from time to time, accidents can happen. We recommend performing a check on all windows within your property to ensure all windows are closed. If you manage an office or workspace, always ensure all the windows are checked on Fridays. If it rains across the weekend there won’t be anyone at the property to raise the alarm, meaning that water will be left standing for hours causing extensive water damage, requiring more time for remediation.5. Once all areas of mould have been removed and treated, the property must be dried to ensure that mould does not grow again. Call Kleen-Tech for an expert inspection if you’re based anywhere in Melbourne or the surrounding suburbs.

Flood Cleaning Tips

Here we’ll outline our recommended tips for reducing the amount of water saturation and damage to your property following a flood. By taking the following steps you can significantly reduce the amount of water damage to your property and belongings but also ensure the safety first of yourself and those within the property. We only recommend using the following tips if the area is safe and secure.

• Phone a flood damage specialist immediately to commence carpet drying as soon as possible

• Ensure the water damaged area is safe to enter by checking electrical items and securing the area from people and pets
  
• Try and identify the source of the flooding and move any items of furniture and belongings out of the way
  
• For heavily saturated areas that aren’t contaminated use towels and soak up excess water. Repeat this process for all water damaged carpeted areas in your property
  
• Switch off any heaters in the property to ensure low humidity to the area
  
• Try and ventilate the rooms with cold air only