Ways to Save Commercial Inventory and Prevent Water Damage Issues
ShareIf you are a small business owner, water damage not only causes damage to the building, but it can also cost your business money when commercial inventory is affected. Therefore, it is important to act quickly to reduce the financial impact water damage has on your business. You will also want to do improvements that can help protect your business from future problems that can cause damage to your business. The following guide will help save the inventory that you can and prevent future problems with water in your business:
1. Assess the Damage and Ensure You're Safe
The first thing that you want to do is to make sure your business is safe and turn off all the utilities. Once it is safe to enter your business, you will want to assess the damage to the inventory, as well as the building. This is also when you will want to start taking photos and documenting the damage for your records before you begin the process of cleaning up and water damage restoration repairs that need to be done.
2. Remove the Dry Inventory
There may be some materials in your inventory that are still dry and have not yet been damaged by the rising water. Therefore, the first priority when you begin removing the water from your business should also be removing the material that is still in good condition. You will want to move this inventory to a safe storage facility or area of your business where it will stay dry while the water damage restoration work is being done.
3. Decide If It's Worth Restoring the Damaged Inventory
Sometimes, the inventory that you have moved from your business can be saved with good cleaning and restoration. You will want to decide if the materials can be saved, but you should still disclose that the materials were in the water to any potential buyers. If you cannot save the materials that were damaged, you will want to account for the inventory as losses, which you will need for taxes, financial records, and insurance claims if your business has flood coverage that covers water damage.
4. Choose the Best Strategy for Preventing Future Water Damage
There are a lot of improvements that can help prevent future damage to your business and the inventory that you store. First, you want to consider moving inventory storage to areas that are safer and make sure that mechanicals like plumbing that could cause damage is not near valuable inventory. In addition, there are also improvements like installing flood barriers, improving drainage, and using more water-resistant materials that can help reduce the cost of future water damage.
These are some of the things that can be done to protect your business from damage due to flooding and other water problems. If you need help with dealing with water damage in your business, contact a water damage restoration service to help to reduce the financial impact on your business.