24/7 Emergency Service
Your Business Flooded. Now What?
11/5/2020 (Permalink)
Imagine this: last night, a freak thunderstorm rolled through Albany. The thunder woke you up, you made sure your windows were closed, and then you went to bed without a second thought.
Twelve hours later, you show up to work to open your business up for the morning. But something doesn’t seem quite right. You open the door to the basement, turn on the light, and your heart sinks – there’s a foot of standing water down there, and everything you were storing appears to be totally soaked.
What should your next move be? We’ll tell you.
Shut off gas and electricity.
If it’s safe to do so, and you can access the shutoffs, shut off your gas and electricity. If you aren’t sure how to do this, contact your utility companies for more info.
Start to move your contents.
Assuming you can get at the contents of your basement safely, start to move things out of the water and to a place where they can begin to dry. Make a note of the damage as you go.
Call your insurance agent.
Talk to your insurance company about what might be covered. If possible, start the process of filing a claim.
Take pictures of everything.
Take photos and videos of everything you can, keeping an eye out for potential structural and property damage in particular.
Clean up – safely.
Even if you plan to use a professional restoration company like SERVPRO of South Albany County, you may save yourself time and money if you start the cleanup process on your own. Shovel out mud and debris, disinfect all surfaces, and open doors and windows to promote circulation.
Make sure that you wear gloves and clothing you can dispose of when you clean. Flood water, especially when drains back up, may not be especially sanitary.
Communicate with employees and customers.
If you need to close due to the flooding, let employees and customers know ASAP. Social media and email are great platforms for getting the message out to customers quickly.
Call SERVPRO of South Albany County.
If your flooding is serious, then it pays to call in the professionals. If your business has flooded, call 518-456-1111 – we’ll make it "Like it never even happened."