Can You Prepare Kids for a Flood Damage Event in Boyle Heights?

10/31/2020 (Permalink)

For flood damage remediation, you can call SERVPRO of Silver Lake / Echo Park at (213) 628-2000.

Boyle Heights Residents Concerned about Family Safety after Flood Damage?

Boyle Heights is a diverse and vibrant community situated close to the Los Angeles River. These days the river flows through concrete channels built after catastrophic floods in the early 20th Century. Unfortunately, that does not mean residents are entirely safe from floods, as California still suffers from storms and flooding.

It is better to be prepared for possible flooding to your Boyle Heights home. Then if disaster does occur, it will not take you by surprise. One way to prepare is talking to your kids about flooding and what to do if it happens.

How can you prepare your kids for flooding?
The best way to prepare your kids for potential flood damage in Boyle Heights is to talk to them about it:
    •    Bring up the subject in a way that allows space for questions
    •    Talk in terms of how to stay calm and safe, so it is less frightening
    •    If you do not know the answer to a question, look it up together

You can also involve children (and the rest of your family) in flood preparedness activities such as:
    •    Having a grab and go bag ready for if you need it
    •    Storing valuable papers away from the floor and in watertight boxes
    •    Making sure you have pet medicine, food, toys, and carry cases ready to grab in an emergency
    •    Ensuring you have a stock of any regular medicines stored in watertight containers

What about protecting your home?
You cannot prevent a storm, but you can take steps to protect your home from the effects of one.

Make sure your home is structurally sound. If you have leaky windows or doors or a missing roof tile, take care of it now, before disaster strikes. You should also check your gutters and downpipes and make sure they are clear.

If you have a sump pump, ensure it is functioning correctly and have backup power. You should also check your yard – in the event of a flood, would the water run away from your house or toward? You can employ a landscape gardener to direct water away from your home.

Consider adding flood barrier seals or storm doors if storms are a particular concern. You might also make sandbags to protect your home in an emergency.

What should you do with flood-contaminated materials?
Flood water from storms is sometimes classified as blackwater, meaning it could contain dangerous contaminants, raw sewage, or dead animals or fish. That is why SERVPRO of Silver Lake / Echo Park recommends calling us immediately after a flood. Do not try to handle flood-damaged materials yourself.

There may be some cases where you can safely manage materials if you are confident the water is from heavy rain, not a flooded river. In that case, you can:

    •    Remove colored items such as books or magazines from rugs and carpets
    •    Remove sofa cushions and tent them to encourage drying
    •    Pick up bulky items like rugs, furs, sheepskin rugs, or leather clothes, and hang them to dry
    •    Blot water from surfaces using a mop and wipe down furniture with an absorbent cloth

It is essential to keep your kids away from flood-damaged areas and not let them play with flood-damaged toys. Our team will assess what is safe to keep, what is not safe, and what we can clean.

How can SERVPRO help?
We train our technicians to the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) standards, so they are up to date on the latest and best flood remediation techniques.

We assess your home and contents to ascertain what is salvageable and to draw up a drying plan. Our assessment includes moisture level and humidity monitoring, which we continue to do throughout the remediation process.

Can SERVPRO clean your kids' favorite belongings?
Depending on the category of water and contamination level, it is possible to clean many kinds of belongings. We can wipe down plastic toys and furniture. We can use ultrasonic cleaning machines for many toys, soft toys, and textiles, or we can send them to our facility where we have Esporta hydraulic washing systems. We can also send clothes and shoes to our Esporta washers for a thorough but gentle cleaning process.

We can apply microbial treatments where needed to make items sanitary again.

When we have finished cleaning your home and belongings, we will deodorize to leave them fresh, “Like it never even happened.”

We understand that you are concerned about your family and their belongings. That is why we treat your loved ones and your possessions with the same care we treat our own.

For flood damage remediation, you can trust call SERVPRO of Silver Lake / Echo Park at (213) 628-2000.