Flood Damage from Storms and Failures Cause Stress. Call The Experts at SERVPRO!

7/29/2019 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Works Fast to Remove Storm Water to Preserve the Integrity of Your Property

The word flood causes people to think of thunderstorms and bursting levees. Most of the restoration costs come from smaller water sources, however. 

Much of the flood damage that SERVPRO finds within and nearly everywhere else results from failing plumbing and broken appliances. In winter months, poorly insulated pipes can freeze and burst, flooding basements, attics and other areas of the home.

Year-round, lines get blocked and rupture, old plumbing corrodes and fails as do clothing and dishwashers. While all this may seem like a small amount, a burst water pipe can send 160 gallons across a kitchen floor per hour. If this happens when a family is out for the weekend, they can come back to find over 5,700 gallons (36 hours) has flooded their entire home. Typically, this is clean water, which is not the case with intruding ground water from a storm.

To put things right; our response team starts with two tasks: an inspection to determine the extent of the flooding while technicians set up the first pump to begin removing the flood water. A quick check with a tape measure tells us the depth; if it is over two inches, we start a commercial grade pump to drain the water.

As this happens, a team inspector checks the other areas of the house to see how much water is present and if there is ancillary damage such as water in the electrical outlets. It is not a regular occurrence, but it can happen in basements or split-level homes. More common are flooded carpets, walls, ceilings, and floors with possible damage to other structural property. 

Once we finish with the pumps, the next steps are to remove water trapped in the carpets and floors and to dry or replace damaged drywall. We use extractor wands to draw water out of carpets and wood floors without damaging the nape or surface. In most cases, we throw out the carpet pad, as it is too expensive to dry out something that cheaply can be replaced. Once again, if surging water from the exterior transported debris, the contaminated padding must be tossed.

To prevent removing drywall, we try to dry it in place if it is not too soaked. SERVPRO IICRC trained technicians set up dehumidifiers to remove moisture from the air, install exhaust fans to pull damp air out of the affected rooms, and place air movers along the affected panels to force heated, dry air across the surfaces to carefully lower the moisture content. We may also drill small holes into the baseboard area and close to the ceiling joints to increase air flow and the rate of evaporation. This further mitigates the loss.

These are just a few of the actions we take to return your home to its normal, pre-flood state, "Like it never even happened." If you need our help to dry out your home and property, call SERVPRO of Shrewsbury / Westborough today at (508) 393-7898. We are here and ready for you.