Introduction
Water damage is a serious problem that can cause significant damage to your home or business. If left unchecked, water damage can lead to mold growth, structural damage, and other issues. That’s why it’s important to take action as soon as possible. In this blog post, we’ll explain the steps for water damage restoration and the benefits of professional water damage restoration.
Water damage can leave you in a position where you’re not sure how to act. Not only is your home or property potentially impacted by the water itself, but there may be a variety of other issues present, not to mention potential health hazards as well.
An important step you need to take before you begin the repair and reconstruction process is making sure that the structure is adequately dried out. While a flood or burst pipe can cause damage in seconds, the drying process is a lot more drawn out.
Steps for Water Damage Restoration
Water damage restoration is a multi-step process that involves assessing the damage, finding the source of the water, removing excess water, drying out the affected area, cleaning and sanitizing, and repairing and restoring.
Assess the Damage: The first step is to assess the damage. This will help you determine the extent of the damage and the best course of action.
Find the Source of the Water: Once you’ve assessed the damage, it’s important to find the source of the water. This will help you determine the best way to mitigate the damage and prevent further issues.
Remove Excess Water: After finding the source of the water, it’s important to remove the excess water. This can be done manually or with a water extraction machine. Dry Out the Affected Area: Once the excess water is removed, it’s important to dry out the affected area. This can be done with fans, dehumidifiers, and other drying equipment.
Clean and Sanitize: After drying out the affected area, it’s important to clean and sanitize the area. This will help prevent mold growth and other issues. Repair and Restore: Finally, it’s important to repair and restore the area. This may involve replacing drywall, flooring, and other materials.
How To Prepare For A Dry Out
Potential health hazards posed by standing water make it unsafe for you and restoration professionals to work in. To ensure safety
- Turn off power to the building or home
- Check for gas odors or leakage
- Determine if the building is structurally sound
For smaller water damage confined to one area or one room, this step can be skipped. Take photos of the home for insurance purposes before beginning the drying process.
Equipment Used For A Water Damage Process
There are common types of equipment carried by water restoration technicians. They often include detection equipment, air moving equipment, deodorization equipment, and generators.
Detection Equipment: Moisture Sensors and Meters
Technicians use sensors and meters to determine how wet an area is. They measure and display the moisture content of floors, ceilings, walls, and other materials so the technician can decide the best way to dry them out or if they need to be torn out.
Air Moving Equipment: Fans and Dehumidifiers
Drying an area requires removing the moisture from the affected materials and also from the air. Air from a fan blowing across the surface causes water to evaporate, then a dehumidifier draws that moisture out of the air and drains it so that it can’t find its way back into the material, potentially causing further damage.
Deodorization Equipment
Air Scrubber: This machine removes chemicals, particles, and/or gasses from the air. Drawing in air from the surrounding space, it then forces it through numerous filters to remove contaminants that cause odor.
Foggers: These machines eliminate odors by transforming chemicals into a fog. In addition, they are also used to kill bacteria or to reduce or stop mold growth after water damage has occurred.
Thermal Foggers: These machines heat a solvent-based deodorizer that is turned into a dry smoke/fog, which is then blown into a room. Clinging to odor molecules, the vaporized cleaning solution absorbs them to rid the area of the smell. Combining a thermal fogger with cleaning is an effective way to deodorize an area.
Generators: When water damage in Miami causes the loss of power, the technicians still need a power supply. They carry generators so that the equipment has a power source to run the fans and dehumidifiers so everything can be dried to pre-damage condition.
The Process Of A Dry Out
For the actual process of drying, it’s important to be thorough, as there are many things beyond what you may see at first that can potentially retain water. A good case example of this is the attic. Insulation can easily get soaked and lose its effectiveness. Wet boxes or storage can lead to potential cracks in the ceiling below.
As a start, in this or any room, you want to open the windows in your home in order to promote natural airflow, but professionals will bring along added equipment to help in this process. Air movers are essentially massive fans that help circulate airflow throughout the room. In addition, the same dehumidifiers used to keep mold from growing after the initial cleanup will serve a similar purpose during the dry-out stage. In addition, keeping the environment dry minimizes the chance of swelled or warped floors and furniture.
The thing that tends to drag out the dry-out process the most, though, is taking the time to look at every portion of the affected area for moisture. We already mentioned insulation, but molding, backboards, and wallpaper are all going to need to be removed in order to get rid of trapped moisture. Wallpaper may be a bit of a surprise here, but the reason for this is that it creates a “seal” that holds moisture in the wall. Other extreme but necessary methods may include drilling holes into the drywall in order to help them dry out faster.
One other final piece of the dry-out process that goes on parallel to this other work is containment. Wet areas in the home will be taped off while drying is going on to ensure that heat and suction are going to the rooms that need it most. The dry-out crew will also check the surfaces as well as readings to see how well the drying is progressing. When it is finally done, you can start redesigning the room to make it livable once again.
Conclusion
There are a lot of different working parts to a dry-out, and doing so properly is essential to making sure that your home isn’t permanently impacted. The ideal way to do this is to make sure that you have professional help and support, and that means working with Total Care Restoration.
Not only do we believe in doing the most for our customers in the Miami area, but we’re also IICRC-certified. This means we use the best cleaning and restoration tactics to help your property recover after severe damage, whether it’s due to a plumbing failure or weather issues. In addition, we make sure that we’re able to bill your insurance company for our services instead of leaving you on the hook.
