A broken pipe and the water damage clean up that it causes is the nightmare of every homeowner. Even a broken sink pipe with a small amount of water can do significant damage in a short period of time. What should you do when you are unfortunate enough to experience this crisis? Here are some tips for water damage clean up when you discover a broken pipe.

The first thing that you should do is find the source of the water damage is and stop the flow of additional water from entering your home. The more water the bigger the water damage clean up and more extensive the problem. It’s easy to figure out when you’ve left a faucet on or a hard rain has filled your basement. But if you have a broken pipe that has burst that can’t be seen, you must turn off the water supply to your home as quickly as possible.

As a safety precaution, be sure to turn off the electrical power to the section of the home where the water damage has occurred. Electricity and water don’t mix!

After the panic has subsided and before you start your water damage cleanup, you want to assess the level of damage to your home. If you have a limited amount of apparent water damage, there are many things that you can do yourself. But if carpeting, rugs, tile, drywall and the ceiling below have been saturated call a professional water restoration company immediately. You need to be in damage control mode and understand you are racing against the clock.

Bacteria that causes hazardous mold spores can begin to grow within hours of the catastrophe. Waiting to take care of the problem can be a risk to you and your family’s health.

It is important to understand that you have a lot of work ahead of you to fix your water damage problem. Call the professional water restoration experts at Water Damage America can save you headaches and help you settle with your insurance company.

Following these three important steps, go through your belongings that were affected by the water. Sort through any papers, books, photos and keepsakes and inspect for damage. If they are not valuable and ruined, throw them away. You can make photocopies of most paperwork and then throw it away. If valuables have been damaged, you can place them in a freezer food bag and freeze them until you can consult with a water damage professional to see if they can be saved.

If the water damage was the result of a broken pipe or other mechanical failure, repair it quickly and correctly so that you don’t aren’t cleaning water damage again in a few months. A water restoration professional and a qualified plumber can help you navigate through this maze of water damage clean up.

Finally, call your insurance company and determine if the water damage is covered under your homeowner’s policy. The experienced pros at Water Damage America can help you with this and all the other steps of water damage clean up when your next catastrophe happens.