What Processes Are Necessary to Complete Water Removal in Carmel Homes After Pipes Leak?

7/31/2020 (Permalink)

Water damage due to a pipe leak can get extensive, SERVPRO will help you with the damage.

SERVPRO Helps Expedite Water Extraction, Locate Hidden Moisture Pockets and Perform Finishing Services Like Deodorization 

A pipe in your house can spring a leak at any time because of reasons such as changing temperatures or high pressure. Although the water is released into the house almost instantaneously, the process of removing it might not be that easy, considering it might cause some damages in the areas it reaches. SERVPRO can help restore your Carmel home to its preloss state by providing highly trained technicians and other critical resources.

Are there crucial steps that must be performed during water removal from Carmel homes?

• Extracting all visible water
• Scoping the property for hidden moisture
• Performing water remediation

After realizing there is a water leak in your Carmel home, the steps, you take next play a significant role in determining the outcome. Extracting any standing from the structure fast can help prevent the spread of damages or limit the extent of any damages that occur. A quick extraction is indeed crucial because the absorption rate of most materials in the house, including wood and concrete, is much faster compared to the drying rate. Completing the extraction before the materials become saturated cuts down the recovery time and costs. For instance, it can take over 4 days to reduce 85% moisture content in wood to around 25%, so removing water before it causes such high saturation brings down the recovery time. 

Our SERVPRO technicians use high-powered water extractors that can cut down the time it takes to remove all standing water from your house. We chose the extraction equipment based on the circumstances of the incident. We have a vast stock of equipment that we can use to extract water, including:

• Truck-mounted water extractors
• Portable wet vacs
• Submersible pumps
• Weighted water extraction tools

How often does water reach hidden areas within the property?

Water moves through openings or materials. Even the air can transport water through the processes of evaporation and condensation. Therefore, there is always a possibility that water might end up in the ceiling, wall, or floor cavities. Water can also pass through the grout, thus penetrating beyond impervious surfaces such as tiles. 

Our SERVPRO technicians check for signs such as sagging ceiling panels, peeling paint, or soft drywall, which are indicators that the spilled water might have found a way into hidden areas within the property. Sometimes we also use tools such as Borescopes or thermal cameras to inspect areas where we suspect there is damage beyond the surface. 

Removing water hidden within cavities requires some form of demolition to help release the water. In case of water within the wall or ceiling cavity, our crew drills weep holes to release the water through a gravity-aided flow. We can also create broader vent holes to help push dry air into the cavities using specialized cavity-drying equipment. In a case of significant flooding, flood cuts are necessary. We cut a few inches above the waterline, removing all the soaked drywall and insulation. 

Is water removal enough to restore my home?

When a water spill is significant enough to require assistance from professional water restoration companies, it is also likely to require additional remediation processes apart from the removal of standing water. For instance, the excess moisture is likely to spark mold development within the property. Our SERVPRO team can help address this in three different ways, including:

• Preventing mold development
• Cleaning areas where mold develops
• Removing moldy materials

If possible, prevention is a better solution since it is less tedious and cheaper. Since mold starts developing 24-48 after materials are exposed to water, taking proactive steps can help prevent development. In addition to expediting water removal and drying, our technicians also apply products with antimicrobial properties in the areas we remove water from because such products help stop microbial growth. 

The house might also develop unpleasant odors after a water intrusion, mostly due to microbial growth processes, soils, or finishing products such as paints.  Deodorization can help eliminate such odors. Our technicians take different approaches to deodorize the affected property. For instance, we mix specially formulated water-based deodorizers with the cleaning solutions we use to wash soiled areas ensuring that we not only remove the dirt but also leave a sweet scent. We can also spray or fog a deodorizing agent into the house after cleaning.

Water removal is an elaborate process that requires the right resources to accomplish the intended goal. Call SERVPRO of Putnam County at (845) 228-1090 to help address any issue that you face after an incident at your Mahopac, Southeast, or Kent property, "Like it never even happened."