Caution, professionals needed for electrical damage

For safety's sake, electrical system damage is the first thing a homeowner should think about after a flood. And, for the same reason, it may not be a problem that can be immediately addressed.

Jerry Berger, president of BRC Heating & Cooling in Des Plaines, warns homeowners to stay out of their basements if it involves stepping into any level of water.

And in cases he's encountered in which electrical cords can be seen floating in the water, he asks the homeowner to call him back after the water's receded.

Dangerous electrical damage is likely if water's reached the level of outlets or even the bottom of appliances, such as washing machines and dryers, Berger said.

As far as his firm's heating, ventilation and air-conditioning specialty, furnaces are generally what need to be looked at after a flood.

Furnaces' circuit boards can corrode quickly, but Berger said his company's workers have been trained in how to dehydrate them in hopes of avoiding a full furnace replacement.

"We want to give the appliances the benefit of the doubt," he said.

Berger recommends homeowners leave the job of working with flood-damaged electrical equipment to the professionals.