devastating.
However, a professional restoration will go to great lengths to
assess the damage and get the property back to normal. Here are four
steps in the process of repairing and restoring your home or building
after water damage.
1.
Assess the Damage
The
first step in the process is to inspect and assess the extent of the
damage. If the damage seems extensive, call for professional water
damage restorations services. Every situation is unique, from the
property layout to the water damage that occurred. This initial
inspection will allow the team of experts to create a realistic plan
for restoring your property to its former glory.
A
professional water mitigation contractor uses particular tools and
measurements to assess the depth of damage, even beyond what can be
seen with a visual inspection. They will meticulously cover the
entire property, testing floors, baseboards and doorframes, ceilings,
and walls to discover how much water has seeped in.
The
results of these tests will then be compared to your state's
Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification dry standards.
These standards will help the restoration team develop a plan for how
best to proceed.
2.
Remove the Water and Prevent Further Damage
This
step is what most people picture when they think of water damage
restoration: getting rid of the water. The faster and more
efficiently this can happen, the less additional damage occurs as a
result of standing water that continues to seep into surfaces over
time.
The
restoration team will determine exactly which equipment is necessary
in your situation. For standing water, large shop vacuums can be used
to remove it quickly. For residual wetness and moisture, commercial
dehumidifiers will dry surfaces and remove remaining moisture in the
air.
Depending
on the surfaces of your property, the water removal process will take
varying amounts of time and different equipment. This step not only
cleans the water that has already caused damage, it also prevents
further damage from occurring due to residual moisture.
3.
Dry the Affected Space and Containing the Water
After
residual water is removed, additional equipment is needed to dry out
building surfaces. The team will contain the areas that need to be
dried with tape and other barriers to ensure that drying happens as
quickly as possible, preventing further damage.
Think
of all the different surfaces in a typical home: from carpets and
floorboards to grout and drywall, each material will have a different
absorbency and thickness. Water damage restoration teams will use
specific equipment and containment methods for each surface and room.
For example, floor mats can be used to draw water out of the floor
while industrial fans can be directed at saturated walls.
In
some cases, further measures will need to be taken to ensure unseen
water is not left behind. Contractors can drill holes into dry wall
to help air it out and remove and replace damaged baseboards and door
frames. Your team of professionals will know what specific steps are
best for your unique property.
4.
Continue to Monitor and Assess
Once
the property has been thoroughly dried, the job still requires one
additional step. To be certain that no residual moisture is left
behind, monitoring of formerly saturated surfaces will continue until
the team is satisfied.
By
inspecting the same areas that were originally assessed in step 1,
the water damage restoration team can be sure that their job has been
completed. Residual moisture is sometimes difficult to detect, and if
left untreated can lead to further problems like mold and mildew.
Monitoring the drying process and final assessment ensures the
quality of the job from start to finish.
For
more information on how we can meet your water damage restoration
needs, call C&Z
Construction
today.
