Water Damage's Impact on Slidell Home Structures

3/21/2023 (Permalink)

Call SERVPRO at the first sign of water damage in your Slidell home to avoid additional damages.

SERVPRO Technicians Remediate Slidell Residential Water Disasters

Property damage caused by water totals an average of $20 billion per year for United States homeowners. While Slidell property owners can take measures like installing moisture sensors and maintaining plumbing, many water damage incidents are unforeseen accidents that can happen without warning. Fortunately, professional assistance is available at any time of the day or night to minimize potential damages.

Water damage cleanup for Slidell homeowners is available at SERVPRO 24/7. Restoration from highly-trained technicians takes care of water damage and performs necessary repairs. These services can include patching up drywall and fixing damaged flooring and baseboards.

How Water Damage can Affect Residential Structures

Moisture can be highly damaging on its own. Still, two of the most challenging aspects of cleanup are water's ability to carry in other contaminants and the potential for mold growth due to the damage mentioned above.

In as little as one week, moisture damage can do the following:

• Make drywall warp, crack, and eventually crumble. Ceilings may sag and ultimately collapse without intervention
• Cause furniture finishes to spread stains that may not be removable if they have been allowed to set
• Warp furniture frames and potentially rust components like nails or the backs of upholstery tacks
• Damage flooring that relies on adhesives to stay in place
• Generate excess mold growth in as little as 24 hours after exposure

While homeowners can hypothetically take care of some of the water themselves, moisture that has been left for more than a week may be considered a potential biohazard.

Restoration technicians are well-equipped to remove water at the source with commercial-grade equipment and perform mold mitigation where needed. Leaving these tasks to the pros can mitigate damages more quickly and thoroughly, especially in situations where the source of the damage is difficult to clean with consumer-grade solutions.

Effective Sanitation and Water Removal with SERVPRO Tools

SERVPRO's multi-pronged approach to moisture cleanup entails a variety of strategies that address many of the complexities of water cleanup, including:

• Are mold or bacterial odors present?
• Is the scope of the damage milder or more severe?
• How much damage did structural materials and contents suffer?
• Is demolition necessary for mitigation or repairs? If so, can these materials be repaired, reinstalled, or replaced?
• Are furnishings or other belongings affected, and can they be restored?

Unless items like antiques, collectibles, or specialized electronic devices need servicing, SERVPRO professionals can often restore these items with careful manual cleaning, application EPA-registered biocides, and drying solutions. Papers and books can also be dried, typically through sublimation to halt further water damage.

Drying is a multi-step process that relies on extraction tools to pull up most excess water before positioning dehumidifiers and air movers around the property. The placement of air movers is crucial for effectively drying walls, floors, and ceilings efficiently in tandem with the dehumidifier.

Odor control can be implemented after drying and sanitation with the help of multiple tools, including SERVPRO odor counteractant beads, scented granules, time-release pellets, and ultra-low volume (ULV) foggers which can release water- or solvent-based deodorizing fog.

Before and after deodorization, SERVPRO technicians run high-powered box fans which circulate over 3,000 cubic feet of air per minute at least 40 times. This process ensures that contaminants and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are not a risk and that air quality in the home is as clean as possible.

Residents can call (985) 649-1516 for "Like it never even happened" mitigation and rebuilding services from SERVPRO of Slidell.