If your house flooded due to a burst pipe or weather event, water damage probably affected irreplaceable items like family photos and scrapbooks. Fortunately, the professionals at Arkansas Restoration Services in Russellville can help you repair damaged pictures and protect your most precious memories.

Get to Photos Immediately

Unlike losses caused by fire damage, your belongings can often be recovered after a flood. Acting quickly can help you prevent permanent water damage. Photos need to be found within a day or two to prevent mold and sticking. Once pictures stick together, they’re usually irreparable. If they’re only a little sticky the day you discover them, put them in a freezer to dry them out and make them easier to separate.

Computer technology makes it easy to create digital copies of important images, so you can create backups and share them with family members. If you’re the sole owner of rare or historic photos, fix these first, so you can scan and save them.

Clean & Air Dry

Carefully remove damp photos from the wet parts of your home. If they’re in albums or scrapbooks, you will need to separate the pages, so individual pictures don’t rub together.

Rinse the front and back of each snapshot in cold water, then lay them faceup on a clean, dry sheet of paper. As the photos dry, you may need to replace the paper with a dry sheet.

Let Experts Handle Historic Photos

Due to their age and the paper they’re printed on, older photographs are more susceptible to water damage than newer ones. Sometimes, the most valuable pictures are also the most difficult to repair. If you’re hesitant about doing the work yourself, take them to a restoration company. These professionals will know whether recovery is possible, along with the correct methods. 

If plumbing problems or severe weather have caused water damage in your home, the team at Arkansas Restoration Services will help make things right. These experts provide mold remediation, moisture removal, and smoke and fire damage restoration, bringing your home and belongings back to their original condition. Visit their website or call (479) 967-2018 for more information.