10 Steps To Take For A Flooded Office

9/28/2020 (Permalink)

Drying out your flooded office as fast as possible is the key to prevent mold growth and further damages.

Cleaning your office after a flood is much more of an important process than many office managers or business owners realize. A flooded office building must be completely cleaned and dried as soon as possible after sustaining water damage to prevent mold growth, protect from further damages, and get your office back to business. When it comes to office flood cleanup, you want to work as fast as possible to help mitigate thousands of dollars worth of water damage.

10 Steps For Office Flood Cleanup

1 | Take all safety precautions necessary.

Before starting flood cleaning, you must make sure to take the proper safety steps, including:

• Turn off the power if there is standing water in the building.
• In the even of major office flooding, turn off the gas as well.
• Do not turn back on the electricity and gas until you have bene told it safe to do so.
• Be sure that the office building is safe to re-enter before doing so. Major flooding can compromise the structural integrity of the building, and should be inspected by a professional.
• Wear proper protective gear when entering flood water or a space that has been flooded for multiple days.

2 | Find the source of flooding and stop it.

You can't start any clean up or call a flood cleanup company before you've stopped the source of the water. If the water is coming from a clean source such as a leaking or broken water pipe, malfunctioning sink valve, or water heater, turn off the main water. This will stop further damages while you wait for a plumber to arrive and fix the issue.

• Tip: If water was from a contaminated source such as a sewer overflow or a river - leave all the cleanup to a water damage restoration company. You can become ill by improperly cleaning up contaminated water.

3 | Move all wet and affected items & decide what is salvageable.

Move lighter items to an unaffected area of the building so that they will not take on any more damages. For heavier pieces of furniture that you can't move, place them on blocks or aluminum foil to get them out of standing water. Wipe off any remaining water on salvageable furniture.

At this stage it is also best to decide what items should be thrown away. If any item has touched contaminated water, it must be thrown away as it is contaminated. Items that are wet with clean water can be saved if you will be able to properly dry them out. Items that you will likely have to throw out either way include rugs, carpet padding, upholstered items, or paper products.

• Tip: Have office items you're not sure if you can save? Keep them and see if a contents restoration company will be able to restore it to pre-damage conditions.

4 | Wash items that you are saving.

Before bringing flood-affected items back to everyday use, be sure that you properly clean and disinfect them to prevent the likelihood of mold growing or some sort of bacteria being left behind on its surface.

5 | Remove standing water.

To get up standing water, you can use a mop and towels, but your best option would be to use a wet dry vacuum. Depending on the extent of your flood damage, you may not be able to suck up all the water yourself. In this case, you would need to call a water damage restoration company to completely extract all water throughout the flooded office building.

• Tip: Do not use a regular vacuum to get up water from the floor.

6 | Begin the drying process.

The extent of the drying process depends largely on how much of the office building was flooded and what materials were affected. Regardless, the process generally remains the same:

• Set up fans and dehumidifiers in affected areas. Let them sit for at least three days to ensure they can dry out the rooms as much as possible.
• Open any windows or doors (weather permitting) to help air circulate.
• Make any necessary flood cuts to floors and walls to ensure that inside the walls also dry. The size of the cut depends on how high the flood water was and how long it sat inside the building.

7 | Inspect for signs of mold.

Mold can grow in a home or business in as little as 48 hours after flooding. If not taken care of promptly, it can spread around your entire office building. Look for signs of the following:

• Musty odors
• Discoloration at baseboards
• Sudden persistent allergies in the building.
• Visible mold - This can be in just about any shape, size or color.

8 | Remove any visible mold growth.

There are a few ways to remove mold from hard surfaces. You can use commercial products, soap & water, or a solution of 1 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water. This tactic may get rid of surface mold, but the best way to ensure your office has been properly remediated is to consult a professional mold removal company.

9 | Clean & disinfect all affected areas.

Even when flood water comes from a 'clean' source, still disinfect to be sure no employees could possibly become ill once they return to the building. This step also helps prevent the growth and spread of mold throughout the building. Clean all hard surfaces (flooring, concrete, molding, wood, metal, appliances, etc.) with detergent and hot water and disinfect with a mixture of 1 cup of bleach to 5 gallons of water.

10 | Take steps to ensure your office building doesn't flood again!

Be sure to properly replace any plumbing fixtures or appliances that cause the leak. If flooding came from an outside source such as a strong storm, it may be best to invest in flood insurance if you have no yet done so.

Should You Handle Flood Cleanup Yourself?

The answer to this question mostly lies within how much flooding there is and how much of your office building is affected. For smaller floods that affect a room or two, you should certainly be able to handle flood cleanup yourself.

But, for example, if your sprinkler system accidentally goes off on all floors of your commercial building for 5 minutes - you will definitely want to call your insurance company and hire a trustworthy water damage restoration company to handle the entire process for you. This will ensure that the project is done correctly and will negate the need for more repairs down the line.

Need Office Flood Cleaning Services? Call SERVPRO - 800-734-3213

SERVPRO of Branford/Shoreline is a 24/7 damage restoration company specializing in fire, water, mold and COVID-19 services. Whatever the damage, we can make it "Like it never even happened."