What Needs Checking at My Bloomingdale Home After Water Damage?
7/27/2022 (Permalink)
SERVPRO Does the Broad Checks Bloomingdale Homes Require Before Water Restoration
Various actions are necessary for a home after water damage. Evaluation after the incident is crucial since it provides material information on the best course of action. When you want to check things, an appropriate approach is to do it comprehensively, touching on your home's directly and indirectly affected areas.
It is easy to think that since your Bloomingdale home has water damage only in one area, checks should only concentrate on that area. However, moisture migration does not follow uniform patterns. It is not constrained by physical barriers such as walls since it can wick through materials or dissipate into the air as humidity. Our SERVPRO crews can inspect your house since we use different tools which simplify inspection.
Where to Concentrate the Inspection
- Concealed areas like floors and walls
- Electronics and appliances
- Any discoloration patches or dark spots
Inspecting a house after water intrusion should help reveal any urgent and obscure issues, minimizing the chances of serious problems later on. Recessed areas within the structure form perfect holding ground for moisture to accumulate and remain hidden until severe problems such as rot, mold, or odors alert the homeowner of the hidden water damage. At such a stage, the level of deterioration is intense, requiring significant work and huge costs. Our SERVPRO technicians concentrate on walls and floor surfaces when doing the checks since the likelihood of moisture accumulation is high in these sections.
Checking whether there is water damage in concealed areas is challenging since there is no direct access. Opening up the areas merely for inspecting is not ideal because it is time-consuming and destructive. Our SERVPRO technicians use alternative means such as thermal cameras to identify wet patches beneath other materials. Penetrative moisture meters are also helpful, especially when establishing the moisture percentage, a crucial metric for water cleanup processes.
Moisture in Contents
Apart from structural areas, moisture also finds a way into contents. Electronics and other appliances are vulnerable since moisture contact with internal components leads to rusting and electrical shorts. Such items may not show any outward signs of damage since their outer shells are made of nonporous plastics, metal, or glass.
The moisture can find its way inside such components through direct exposure or when humidity in the air condenses inside the item. Our SERVPRO technicians can take action to prevent or minimize water damage in this category of things by covering them with plastic sheets, moving them away from affected rooms, and maintaining temperatures above the dew point to prevent condensation. If any item is visibly wet, we expedite water extraction and set up a dehumidifier in the storage area. Such items also require cleaning and restoration by a specialist.
Wherever the checks reveal moisture presence, adequate measures are necessary to counter its effects. Some early signs of water damage include discoloration and changes in physical form. Our SERVPRO technicians probe the areas where we note changes for signs of severe problems like mold. For example, probing a material like drywall or solid wood reveals whether it is sturdy or soft, indicating rot or mold deterioration. If none of the advanced problems are noted, we can use various controlled drying procedures, including drying chambers, to save the materials.
SERVPRO of Central Bloomingdale, Fish Hawk, can help you establish the level of water damage in your home early enough. Call us at (813) 460-0204.