Depending on the amount of water and amount of damage the water has caused usually determines weather or not you should attempt to clean it up yourself or call in a professionals like Ramp Construction, E&M Restorations or a Restoration of NJ to handle the clean-up. They would bill your Insurance Company directly.
The biggest danger is the mold spores that are present everywhere. They need one thing to start to grow and that is water. So if you have a large amount of contents that have been damaged you may want to contact a professional. Depending on how the water damage occurred, it may be covered by insurance. Water Damage Clean-up is a serious matter and unless it’s a small amount you should contact your Insurance Company. If it’s not properly cleaned up you can have a much larger problem on your hands. Mold.
First thing you want to do is obvious, find the cause of the leak and put a stop to it. If your not sure where the water is leaking from, turn off the main. Everyone should make themselves familiar with the location of their main shut-off value. Once you have stopped the water leak there may be left over water that will continue to leak awhile after you have shut the water off. If it’s forming a “belly” in your drywall ceiling, you can poke holes into the water damaged drywall to drain the water. Next you want to turn off the power to the effected area.
Now that you have stopped the water from leaking, you want to minimum the amount of water damage.
1st Move out any contents you can and raise furniture up onto blocks to prevent the furniture from being drawn up the furniture.
2nd Depending on the amount of water, either set a pump into the water with a hose running outside or to a drain. If it’s not that much water you can start to shop-vac the water up.
3rd Any carpets and padding that have been damage must be cut out and disposed of.
4th Any baseboards or drywall that was damaged should be cut out, if there is insulation behind the wall that must be removed.
5th You want to start drying out the structure, for that you want to use air movers or fans to start the water to evaporate into the air.
6th Set up dehumidifiers to remove the water from the air.
7th Spray a mildacide to prevent mold growth from starting, this is why time is of the essence, mold will start to grow with-in 24 to 48 hours after a water loss.
8th Evaluate the damage to your home and make a decision to call your Insurance Company or make the repairs yourself.