Water & Flood Damage
Water coming into your home will cause damage. It’s that simple. Whether it’s a small, clean water event such as a water heater supply line that fails, or a large, black water or sewage back up through basement drains, water will cause damage.
A quick response will help mitigate, or slow down, that damage.
As a professional mitigation firm we adhere to the IICRC industry standards and the following process when dealing with water damage situations.
The first responsibility we have is to accurately answer the question:
WHAT IS WET? This means finding both the horizontal and vertical edge of the water intrusion.
We use common sense, experience, and moisture sensors to do this. Miscalculating what is wet initially can mean the difference between the ability to restore and being forced to replace structural and content items. At this point, we must consider the type of material affected, construction, and the rest of the structure in our assessment of the situation.
Why is this important?
It is important because some structural components are easily restored, while others simply cannot be restored. Is it laminate floor or real hardwood? Is the paint flat or gloss? These answers help us to determine the best course of action. Some of these decisions are easy. In a raw sewage intrusion, there really are few choices—all effected contents including carpet and underlay must be removed. Some decisions are not so black and white.
After finding out what is what we need to determine:
HOW WET IS IT? This is nearly impossible without the proper tools. Carpet, for example, may look or feel wet only in a corner of the room when the underlay is wet in the whole room. This common mistake makes many home owners believe they can handle the situation themselves by using a wet/dry vacuum to remove water. Unfortunately, the damage continues and becomes vary apparent a short time later when a foul odor (caused by Microbiological Volatile Organic Compounds) is evidence of microbial contamination, which is fancy talk for mold.
Professional tools such as:
- Intrusive and non intrusive moisture meters -used to locate and measure moisture content of walls, hard surfaces, etc
- Moisture sensors -to find moisture in carpet and pad
- Thermo-hygrometers -meter to measure temperature and relative humidity
These allow us to establish initial metrics that will guide us to the most effective means to begin the actual drying process.
The readings from these tools, guide us in determining the proper type dehumidification (conventional, low grain refrigerant, or desiccant), how many air movers will we need, and whether or not specialty drying equipment will be necessary (wood floor drying mats, heaters, or air filtration devices).
After calculating the proper equipment needs, ServiceMaster for Quality will determine the best configuration to set up the equipment to maximize its effect on the property.
Our last step is to determine:
IS IT DRYING? At least once every 24 hours, we monitor the area to determine whether drying is properly taking place. We will make adjustments throughout the process, using temperature, and air flow to dry the affected areas as quickly and effectively as possible.
