How to Prepare Before the Storm: Avoiding Flood Damaged Documents

This may be a record-setting spring for high temperatures in North America. But let’s not forget that just a few years ago, we also saw record flooding and rainfall for many regions. Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and even simple water leaks can cause serious damage to your company’s documents.

Wet documents can be a nightmare for HR or your accounting department – not to mention the loss of personal and clientele profiles. Unfortunately, no nook or cranny in your office is absolutely safe from water damage. And flood damaged documents – indeed, wet documents in general – can be difficult to restore without professional services.

Thus, it’s best to be prepared before the storm. Here are some tips to protect against the possibility of flood damaged documents:

Scan, scan, scan. One of the easier approaches to preserving your office documents is by scanning them and storing them digitally. If you can do this now rather than later, you won’t be slowed down by wet documents in case of a disaster – you’ll have digital backups, which can be stored off site or on a remote server. If you have thousands of documents to be scanned, or documents that are classified and need to be scanned in a secure fashion, contact a document restoration service.

Organization first. The better organized your paper files are, the less likelihood you’ll end up with flood damaged documents. And even if you do, a good organizational system will make the restoration of wet documents go much more quickly and smoothly.

High ground preferred. When storing hard-copy documents, you can use gravity to your advantage by placing them on the second floor or higher. Assuming the entire building doesn’t collapse, they will be more protected against flooding, as water always flows downward. Indeed, often during a flood or large water leak, files stored in the basement are generally the first to become wet documents.

Quality containment. Choose a file containment system that is engineered to minimize water intake, such as high-quality, water-resistant boxes and filing cabinets. Speak with a document restoration specialist about recommended storage systems.

Despite your best efforts to prepare for flooding and water damage, there is always a chance you will still end up with flood damaged documents. The good news is that wet documents are recoverable by using high tech freeze drying vacuums or air desiccant drying systems. Still, you know what they say about prevention…

[ Photo by: Daniel Pink, via CC License ]