Flood or Water Damage Data Recovery: What You Need to Know
By Matt Brennan
Whether it’s hurricanes, thunderstorms, another natural disaster, or faulty pipes, thousands of homes and businesses are impacted by water damage every year. Computers are extremely sensitive to water, and if they get wet it can result in damaged hardware and inevitable data loss. Flood or water damage data recovery can be complex, but it is possible.
Hopefully, all business-critical files will have been backed up. But if not, the files may still be retrievable from the water-damaged hard drives.
You’ll Have to Act Fast
There’s no question, discovering standing water in your home or business can be a stressful event. It’s worth noting that if any computer equipment or cords are submerged underneath standing water, you’ll want to shut off the electricity within the home or business as a safety precaution. You’ll also want to make sure your equipment is unplugged.
There’s a lot to worry about in these scenarios. You’ll want to do everything you can to protect your home and people. That said, if you’re worried about crucial files on the computer, you’ll need to move fast. Water or moisture within the hardware and components can negatively impact your equipment within hours.
When you go to touch the equipment that has been impacted by water, it’s important to ground yourself to avoid injury.
Do Not Try to Recover the Data Yourself
It’s important to understand that trying to plug in water-damaged equipment and recover the files in question yourself can result in more damage. The equipment may not immediately power on and using the free data recovery software can make it impossible to recover the data on a second attempt.
Do Not Attempt to Dry the Hard Drive
It may seem illogical but if you have water on the hard drive, you don’t want to attempt to dry it off. This means avoid using a hair dryer or leaving it outside in the sun. The reason is that if there is water on the platters inside your hard drive, when it dries, the residue left behind can prevent the hard drive from working. The added heat from these attempts to dry off the drive can also be damaging to the hardware.
Do Not Open Up the Hard Drive
The outer covering on your hard drive is there to protect it from dust and other airborne particles that can stick to the platters and damage the equipment. Removing the covering could also allow water to seep further in.
Give the Damaged Drive to a Data Recovery Company
The best thing you can do if you need flood or water damage data recovery is to hire a data recovery specialist so that you can regain access to the files in question. Look for a data recovery company that has a clean room so that your equipment is protected during the recovery process. You can also find a company with the appropriate cybersecurity protocols and certifications.
An experienced data recovery specialist understands how to recover these files without causing further damage to the equipment. If you have a water or flood-damaged computer hard drive, contact We Recover Data today!
