What to Do When You Have Standing Flood Water in Austin

4/29/2019 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of East Central Austin Professionals are available 24 hours/7 days a week and will respond quickly to a restoration emergency.

Standing Flood Water and its Potential Health Risks for Austin Homeowners and Businesses

Austin TX is no stranger to heavy rain. When you’re in an area like Austin, that’s comprised of significant hilly terrain, that rain can quickly lead to some serious flooding. Flash floods come with the territory here, and with those floods also comes the likelihood of dealing with standing floodwater in your home or business.

But what Austin home and business owners may not be fully aware of is the damage that standing water from floods can cause.

Standing water (also known as stagnant water) is a pool of water that has accumulated, either from a rainstorm, or a flood. In most cases, these pools tend to be very small, and can be easily dealt with. But when a major storm hits Austin, water can gradually seep into your home or business and cause major water damage and mold in its aftermath, especially if you’re in an area where flooding is prevalent.

Though a small amount of water seeping in might be manageable on your own, if you have even a few inches of standing water in your house, then you need to step back and bring in a water removal and water damage professional.

Potential Health Issues from Standing Water in Austin TX

Aside from the physical damage it can cause to a building, standing water, if not dealt with right away, can pose serious health risks, including the increase of harmful bacteria and diseases, potentially infecting everything it comes in contact with, including clothing, children’s toys, kitchen appliances and furniture.

The list of health risks that can result from flood water is high, including infectious diseases, diarrheal diseases, and bacterial infections; diseases such as Norovirus, Tetanus, Tuberculosis, Legionnaires’ and West Nile are also possible. It’s important to be extremely cautious if you try any type of water extraction on your own, so be sure to wear protective clothing and especially gloves; if you have any open cuts on areas of your body that will be exposed, including your hands, dress and protect these properly to prevent infection.

If your house has been submerged, then so has your kitchen. This means that you shouldn’t eat anything that has come in contact with the standing water, as it could be contaminated. Some canned goods might be salvageable, but other perishables should be discarded.

Other Unseen Standing Water Hazards

In addition to health issues, be prepared that following a flood, you may be dealing with a variety of insects, including mosquitoes, cockroaches and other types of creatures that can be harmful. You may also come in contact with miscellaneous debris that’s flowed into your Austin home, such as mud, broken glass, pieces of wood and metal; note that these may be submerged and not easily identifiable at first and some of these can create physical hazards and obstructions as well. If there’s been an appearance of mud in your Austin home or business, you could also find other foreign objects such as rocks and broken tree branches.

Also, and this is very important, before you even decide to examine this water damage on your own, be sure to check for any fallen power lines in your immediate area. If you notice any downed lines, call the city to report this, and wait for a professional to show up and handle it properly.

Other Issues to Watch Out For When Your Austin Home Is Flooded

If you have standing water in your home, and are able to remove it on your own, you may still not be out of the woods. While you may have removed the water, there will still be other potential problems on the horizon. Even if a torrential storm has passed and your house hasn’t been flooded, there may still be some cases where standing water remains an issue.

Water Damage to your Floors

Regardless of what types of floors you have in your home, after dealing with flooding, you can expect to see some type of water damage. If your floors are made of tile and wood, your floors may appear cracked, warped or show signs of buckling. If your floors are carpeted, they may be saturated and damaged beyond repair, so it’s best to discard the carpeting and replace it.

Check Outside Your House

Pools and puddles of standing water outside your house can mean that you have poor drainage in your yard. If your gutters are clogged and aren’t moving the water away from your house, you can also face foundation problems. Also, if you have an older roof, you may experience pools of water that are slowly causing damage to your flashing and loss of shingles and tiles leaking from above into the walls of your house. Always check outside your home after a storm to tackle any possible water damage Austin.

Check for Mold and Rust

Standing water and the water damage associated with it can also create harmful mold and rust. Pipes can experience corrosion from standing water, and the moisture can help increase the existence of mold spores. The thing to keep in mind here that most mold is microscopic and can’t be seen immediately with the naked eye Once the standing water has been removed, properly air dry the interior of your house with proper ventilation. Fans, open windows, dehumidifiers…use whatever you can that will help remove the moisture from your home and stop mold and rust from developing.

Have you Been Affected by Standing Water after a Flood?

Contact Our Austin SERVPRO Team

If you’re not prepared to handle standing water on your own after a rainstorm or a flood, then you should contact a water extraction & water damage restoration company like our local SERVPRO team. Our staff are dedicated, trained & certified professionals who are available 24/7 and can handle your water damage and mold remediation needs.

We've performed thousands of water damage removal and restoration (including standing water issues) jobs, and we will diligently restore your property after water damage occurs from Austin storms, floods, and leaks.

Our team will review your water damage repairs while also providing an advance water damage inspection. We only use state of the art extraction equipment to make the restoration process an easy one.

Our SERVPRO team consists of highly trained water restoration technicians who can provide guidance and valuable resources.

If you require a water damage repair and restoration, please call our local SERVPRO Company today.