Of all the various kinds of damage your home can suffer,
nothing is quite as frustrating on so many levels as water damage. People who have been unfortunate enough to
experience both will testify that given the choice, they would much rather have
to recover from fire than deal with water clean up. With fire, you know your enemy, what he is
going to do, and the damage he will leave behind. Not so with water.
Fire usually confines its damage to the area where it
actually is, and it is fairly easy to extinguish. By comparison, water does a great deal of
damage immediately, and then finds its way into every possible nook and cranny
of your home where it will continue to wreak havoc until properly
remediated. It becomes a process that
could take days, weeks, or even months before you know if your restoration
efforts have been successful.
In many cases, water damage will be obvious, be it through severe weather, or burst pipes, or even something as simple as an overflowed tub. Remember that water will continue to cause damage for as long as it is allowed to remain untreated. After 48 hours or so, you run the risk of mold cropping up as a result. Mold establishes itself very quickly, spreads like wildfire, and can prove extremely difficult to remediate. Mold also brings with it health hazards ranging from the slight to the severe.
Many times, you may not know where to look for water damage,
which means that it sits in secret silence, wearing away at the foundation of
your home, rotting the wood, or providing the perfect home for mold and the
toxins it brings along with it. given time, your home could become not only unsuitable for habitation, but also downright dangerous. It is not at all uncommon for homes and even entire city blocks to be condemned and torn down for no other reason than water damage.
When it comes to water clean up, the operative word for the
whole operation is “dry”. All surfaces
must be completely dried out before repairs can be considered complete. Excess water must be removed from the damaged
area. Surfaces must be dried out. Humidity levels must be brought back within
normal parameters.
Failure to properly dry everything will (not may, will)
result in subsequent problems later on, problems that will compound your repair
bills considerably. Water damage restoration is a process that needs to be done correctly, the first time, in order to avoid any future complications. Unfortunately there are no government regulations in place to dictate who can and cannot do this sort of work, so you can easily find yourself with an unqualified technician who will only serve to make a bad situation worse.
For best results that are guaranteed for one year, contact
your local IICRC certified water clean up company. They are available 24/7/365, with a full staff of highly trained and qualified professionals, the latest in water damage restoration gear and equipment, and they offer a full range of services from water extraction and drying, to carpet cleaning and mold removal, and even structural repair and reconstruction as needed. they can also work alongside your homeowners insurance and claims adjuster to make sure everything is covered and paid for in a timely manner.