Water is one of the main sources of damage to your property besides fire and other natural disasters like earthquake and windstorms etc. Water damage to a place can come in many forms like a broken or burst pipe, sewage backup, flood, rainstorm, a leaking roof or an ice dam.
Whatever the source of the water damage, once you have come to know of it, you need to act fast because if any delay in action can lead to serious consequences. You need to contact the water damage cleanup and restoration services as soon as you can. Also, if you have insurance, you need to call your insurance agent.
Assessment:
The service providers and your insurance agent would both first inspect the damage and estimate the cost of the whole cleanup and repair process and then discuss it with you. The cleanup crew would start working only after you are satisfied with everything explained to you.
You need to keep in mind that any delay in the cleanup and repair would only cost you more and more as the time would pass. Presence of water produces moisture and moisture provides a good environment for bacteria and fungi to grow and multiply rapidly. Mould, in the presence of moisture, grow into mildew and spread over the water damaged surface of furniture, walls, draperies and carpets. This can lead to serious diseases as there are many microorganisms growing in these places.
The first task of assessment involves analyzing the class and category of water damage. There are four classes of water damage and the first-class involves the minimum damage to a part of a room. When the damage extends to the full room and carpets and walls are also involved, the damage is in class 2. The third class is the worst kind of water damage that involves most of the area and its source might be the ceiling. The fourth-class damage has involved the concrete and hardwood also and only professional drying can recover it.
Categories of water damage tell about the type of water that has caused the damage. “Clean water” comes under the first category, the second category includes damage from “grey water” that is contaminated but not to a great extent while the third category includes “black water” that is the fully contaminated water including wastes.
Water extraction:
The removal of water should start as soon as possible and it is done by using the best equipment like pumps and vacuums by the professional workers.
Drying:
The area and surfaces should be thoroughly dried and dehumidified after water extraction to eradicate every bit of moisture. Large fans and blowers, etc. are used but the correct type of equipment used depends upon the extent of water damage. This process is lengthy and may take weeks.
Cleanup:
This is an important step as it is necessary to prevent any diseases from microorganisms. Everything, including all the appliances, furniture, walls, carpeting and other clothing are cleaned and decontaminated.
Repair and restoration:
This process involves rebuilding the irreplaceable and replacing the lost structures of the property like walls.