If you find yourself with a flooded basement in Omaha this spring, chances are that what you’ll be most upset about losing are those irreplaceable family heirlooms—wedding photos, baby pictures, old vacation videos that you haven’t had the time to digitize yet, all these items that remind you of the places your family has been and the things you’ve done over the years are terrible to lose in a flooded basement.
Other items are replaceable, such as passports, birth certificates, and social security cards, but it can be a huge headache to get copies made. The question, then, is how to protect these items in case of a flooded basement or other water damage emergency. Our water damage restoration specialists at Restoration Now! Omaha are here to tell you how you can ensure that your family memories and important documents remain safe when a flood happens!
Proper Storage is Essential
The first step in keeping your irreplaceable possessions safe in a flooded basement situation is making sure they’re stored correctly. There are many effective ways to store valuable items which our team at Restoration Now! Omaha will discuss as we go on. The most important thing to remember, though, is that depending on the item being stored, there will likely be multiple appropriate storage options to consider.
A Flooded Basement is No Match for a Waterproof Safe
A waterproof safe is your best bet for storing your irreplaceable possessions in your home. Not only do these safes protect your valuables from water damage; they also protect against theft, and, depending on the model of safe you choose, they can also protect against fire damage as well.
Many safe models today come with a digital lock, so you won’t have to keep track of a key or rely on a mechanical combination system that could become damaged in a flood or fire.
Note: For an added layer of protection, place all of your important documents, photos, and any other easily water-damaged items into plastic zippered bags before you put them in your waterproof safe!
Store Your Valuables Offsite with Self-Storage
This can be a good option for those who have items that they don’t necessarily need access to on a regular basis. Many facilities offer storage units that are waterproof, and most offer long-term storage plans that make storing your valuables there on a yearly basis a very cost-effective option.
Make Backups of Your Important Documents
Whether it’s tax returns, baby pictures, or any other important document, there are ways to create digital copies of them that can be stored in multiple locations. Keeping multiple USB drives or hard drives containing your important documents in more than one location can ensure that even if disaster strikes, you’ll still have access to your important document files and family heirlooms.
Note: You can also safely store important documents with cloud storage! This eliminates the need to keep one (or many) physical devices on hand. Uploading files to the cloud (using Microsoft Skydrive or Dropbox) is just another great option for keeping your records and keepsakes safe. Most tech companies still recommend keeping a backup of your backup, so we will, too!
Contact Restoration Now! Omaha Today at (402) 502-7277!
Proper storage is essential in keeping your valuable documents and family mementos safe from a flooded basement or other water damage situations. We here at Restoration Now! Omaha hope that this article has given you some ideas of steps you can take to ensure that a flood doesn’t destroy the things that matter most to you, but if you find yourself with a heavily flooded basement and damaged records and heirlooms, contact Restoration Now! Omaha immediately at (402) 502-7277—our water damage restoration experts are on call 24/7 to restore your home and valuable possessions to pre-flood condition!