Restaurant Owners: Help Homeowners Preserve Photos After A Flood With Your Deep Freezer

In the aftermath that follows a flood, communities come together. Neighbors find ways to help each other, as they struggle through the tragedy together. Restaurant owners in a flooded area may provide meals to neighbors who don't have power and can't otherwise find food, but there is another way restaurateurs can help their communities immediately following a flood. If you own a restaurant in a flooded town, your eatery's deep freezer could help nearby residents protect their cherished family photos from water damage.

Freezing Photos to Save Them

Freezing pictures can save damp photos and prevent sopping wet ones from sustaining more water damage. Pictures that are only damp may dry completely in a freezer, because freezers typically have low relative humidity levels. Photographs that are soaked might not fully dry in the freezer, but the water on them will become ice and not cause any further damage. They can safely remain in the freezer like this until a water damage restoration service is able to treat them professionally.

When freezing water-logged photos after a flood, you should:

1. wipe them off with a plain paper towel
2. separate them with a piece of parchment paper or a paper towel
3. place them vertically in a container that will let air pass through
4. put the container in the freezer
5. turn the freezer to its coldest setting

Only plain paper towels should be used, as patterned ones may bleed onto the photos. Additionally, the freezer should be set to its coldest setting so that excess moisture will freeze as quickly as possible.

Helping Neighbors Save Pictures

Restaurants are uniquely positioned to help nearby residents save their pictures after a flood. For, restaurants:

• often have backup power, so they can run their freezers before electricity is restored to the area

• have large, commercial-grade freezers that are colder than standard residential ones

• already have the necessary supplies (parchment paper and paper towels)

• might have milk crates lying around, which can hold lots of photos and let air flow freely

If you own a restaurant in an area that is flooded, help your patrons preserve their family photos until a water damage restoration service is able to take care of them. As you feed nearby residents and reduce how much food is on hand, let them bring water-logged photos to store in your freezer. They'll be grateful every time they see their photos that you helped save.