When water invades your home or business due to a flood or other forms of water damage, it can affect everything it touches.

Water damage can affect surfaces, walls, furniture, and electronics. It leaves homeowners questioning just what, if anything, can be salvaged.

Electronics pose a bigger problem, as they are often susceptible to water damage and are costly to replace.

Whether dealing with a home computer, appliance, or some other electronic device, it’s essential to handle electronics carefully that have sustained water damage.

Depending on the extent of the flood or water damage, your electronics may fall into three separate categories.

Safety First: Some Rules to Consider

Sometimes in our own panic to salvage electronics in our home or business, we forget: water and electronics are not a great pair.

Therefore, there are few safety considerations you should consider before trying to salvage your electronics from water damage:

  • Don’t ever turn on electronics that may have been exposed to water damage or water vapor.
  • Unplug the electronic device.
  • Do not attempt to dry components in a microwave or conventional oven.
  • Do not open up wet electronics to air dry. Please leave that job to a qualified technician.

Safety should always be your primary concern after a flood or other water damage. Items can be replaced, but people cannot, so please leave any extensive salvaging to a trained professional.

Three Types of Water Damage

In our experience, water damage usually falls into three separate categories that can affect your home’s electronics or appliances differently. If you suspect that your electronics have had any of these three issues, we urge you to call a reputable water damage specialist.

Water Submersion

In the event that your home appliance or electronic device has become submerged in standing water, replacement is usually the best option since the cost to fix an item may not be worth the cost.

If data storage devices such as a hard drive are involved, these components can be removed and can sometimes be salvaged by recovery services to secure the data. However, it’s important to note here that the cost of such services can be very costly.

Rainfall or Splashing Water

Depending on the situation, rainwater may fall on or splash against electronics. Due to the fact that these instances usually entail small amounts of water hitting the electronic device, they can generally be cleaned by a professional.

Often, the outside will look worse than the inside; however, if any water has gotten inside the electronic device, it should be cleaned by a professional as soon as possible.

The issue with water splashing on a device is that contaminants and minerals can corrode if not cleaned properly in a sufficient time. Even clean water left to dry on circuit boards can cause corrosion. Therefore, time is of the essence for a qualified technician to service the electronic device.

It’s important to understand that corrosion can be stopped, but it cannot be reversed.

High Humidity

When water flows into your house due to a flood or other type of issue, it raises the home’s indoor humidity. Depending on the severity level of the flood or water damage, it increases the humidity to extreme levels.

Humidity can find its way into your home’s electronics or appliances in the form of water vapor in the air. The water vapor can lead to condensation on circuit boards and other important components in your electronics or appliances.

Professional technicians can usually dry and clean electronics exposed to extreme humidity so long as they have not been turned on. With their knowledge and skills, the professionals at Georgia Water & Fire Restoration should be able to handle this type of water damage in an efficient and cost-effective way.

While time is of the essence when it comes to water damage, when calling for help, it’s important to get a few questions answered before they start the process.

Here are a few questions you should ask before deciding on a recovery and restoration specialist.

  1. How long have you been in business?
  2. Are your technicians certified?
  3. Have you handled rapid response issues before?
  4. Are you available 24-hours a day?
  5. Do you have any testimonials or customer service reviews I can read?
  6. What technology do you use in your cleanup?
  7. Do you work with insurance companies?

Having a few of these questions answered can give you a better sense if the company is reputable, responsible, and able to do the job to your expectations. The last thing you want when you call a company desperate for help is to be bamboozled because of your circumstance.

So take the time to make sure you are getting a trustworthy and reliable service provider.

Make the Right Call at the Right Time

Water damage can be a nightmare for families and businesses. It often means letting go of prized possessions you never wanted to lose. It can often take time to fix the damage left by water and leave families and businesses looking for solutions.

Sometimes, it boils down to making the right call at the right time. The professionals at Georgia Water and Fire Restoration have been helping to restore homes and businesses since 1989.

Their 24-hour service and fast, reliable service have earned the trust of homeowners and businesses in the Atlanta area for years.

We offer services to help restore your home from water damage, fire damage, mold damage, and storm damage. So the next time you need to make a call, make it Georgia Water and Fire Restoration.

Don’t skimp when it comes to your family’s health and safety.

Call us here at Georgia Water and Fire Restoration for professional mold removal to ensure full mold removal and a safe environment for your family.

Contact us for a quote today!
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