Flood Prevention Tips for Common Causes of Property Water Damage

12/4/2019 (Permalink)

SERVPRO water and flood damage restoration and cleanup specialists get started promptly to return your property to preloss condition.

What to Expect from Our SERVPRO Professional Water Damage Restoration Process in Suffolk County

Even small leaks can spell trouble for your home or business causing extensive damage if water removal services are not contacted quickly. A leaky skylight, clogged drain pipe, or tub overflow can soak your floors, walls, and cabinets. Our technicians have experience in water removal and cleanup for homes and businesses in Medford they can quickly get to work to make you feel “Like it never even happened.” We can locate the source of the damage and use advanced technology to map the extent of damages. Our crews will attack your water damage and flooding, first by pumping water from your home with the assistance of wet vacs and pumps. Dehumidifiers and air movers can then be deployed to suck excess moisture from your kitchen cabinets, bathroom flooring, or basement ceiling.

Call SERVPRO For Comprehensive Water Removal!

Often during water restoration, many recovery operations need to happen simultaneously, some of our crew will work on water extraction and controlled demolition, while others will inventory and pack up items to move to another location to help prevent further property damage from exposure to contaminated water or excess moisture. Moisture and mold particles can penetrate deep inside building materials, furniture and other porous items. HEPA filters help our industrial strength air scrubbers and dehumidifiers purify the air and neutralize odors and contaminants. Our SERVPRO of Medford location is fortunate to offer restoration and rebuilding services following a property disaster from all types of water or mold property concerns. Using our highly qualified construction team will help keep your recovery process moving steady and hassle free, often it can also minimize costs and completion time.

When water damage occurs in your home or business, knowing what to do will save precious time and ultimately minimize losses to your property and building contents. SERVPRO of Medford professionals have extensive experience repairing and restoring catastrophic water damage. Our technicians understand that unattended water damage continues to cause harm to your property over time. Making it necessary to make quick, informed decisions, to perform quality restoration services today, that save you from further damaging problems, tomorrow.

EQUIPMENT IS KEY TO WATER RESTORATION:

Isolate Water Damaged Areas
Depending on the severity of your water or flood damage, our SERVPRO professionals may start with containment to help restrict secondary damages such as excessive humidity and mold from contaminating the air throughout your house and keep the damage contained at the source of the water or flood loss areas.

Water Extraction and Removal Equipment
Extractors are at the center of the water removal services. These machines are used to remove water from carpet, upholstery, and floors following a flood damage incidence. Our crews use either truck mounted or portable extractors depending on the extent and severity of water damage. 

Dehumidification Equipment
Excessive humidity from a water damage in your home can have devastating consequences leaving significant structural damage, mold growth and other latent concerns. Dehumidifiers extract water vapor from the air and lower the relative humidity and speed up the evaporation process for faster drying. These machines draw in the moist air and replace it with warmer and drier air.

Air Moving Equipment
Used to accelerate air flow and evaporation of moisture from materials for restorative drying. An air mover—at its core—is a fan. But what separates it from your traditional fan is that it’s high-velocity, it’s versatile, and it has precision. This degree of functionality allows us to work quickly and more efficiently as opposed to a generic fan. As the air flows across the surface of moisture, it speeds up the process from which it evaporates and enters the air. It also pushes the newly created water vapor away from the area so more water molecules can dissipate into the air. We then remove the moisture from the air by running a dehumidifier.

Common causes of home or business water damage:

• Plumbing Problems: freezing pipes is a common problem that can lead to water damage. But it is not just a burst pipe that can create a leak in your plumbing. Pipes can corrode or connections to fixtures can become worn, causing major plumbing problems and water leaks.
  
  Prevention tips: When it comes to avoiding costly damage from plumbing problems keeping your pipes warm and avoiding clogs are the best things you can do. Even small leaks can cause plenty of harm to your home or business, any unexplained changes in your water bill can also be a sign you could have a hidden water damage problem.
  
  
• Ice Dams: When ice forms at the edge of your roof creating an ice dam, water can get trapped on your roof. This can cause leaks into your walls, around window or door jams and through the roof.
  
  Prevention tips: Proper ventilation, drainage and insulation are the only ways to prevent ice dams from causing major damage to your property. Inspect your attic and roof for proper ventilation, look for signs of rust or mold, make sure your vents are not blocked with debris or insulation. Look for air leaks and keep your gutters and downspouts working properly, diverting water away from your roof and foundation.
  
  
• Appliance Malfunctions: Supply hoses, water heaters and drainage systems are notorious for springing leaks. In a matter of minutes, hundreds of gallons of water can flood your home or commercial property if any of these connections or holding tanks becomes corroded or damaged.
  
  Prevention tips: Check and maintain your appliances and hoses regularly, looking for leaks or signs of wear. Damaged hoses are among the most frequent causes of water loss for homeowners. Replace yours regularly to avoid a big mess and expensive property damage.
  
  
• Basement Flooding: Keeping water out of your basement requires effective waterproofing and excess water removal systems in place. If your waterproofing is insufficient, or your sump pump fails, your basement can become flooded.
  
  Prevention tips: When water doesn’t properly drain it can cause water to backup or seep into your foundation and basement. Keep your gutters and downspouts working properly, extend them at least 10 ft. to divert water away from your foundation, drain subsurface water with a sump pump – run it every few months and perform annual maintenance.
  
  
• Roof Damage: A leaking roof can quickly cause extensive water damage in your home, dripping down through the ceilings and walls of your structure.
  
  Prevention tips: Doing regular inspections for roof damage is a great way to avoid the costly after effects that storms, and weathering can bring. Looking for missing shingles or ponding that could lead to water intrusion. Any place where there are openings or joints in your roof, there’s the potential for leaks down the line.

Many of these common water damage issues can be prevented by keeping up with property maintenance. However, not all water infiltration can be stopped. When a pipe bursts or a storm creates a hole in your roof, you not only need to worry about fixing the leak problem, you need SERVPRO’s expert water removal and restoration service to protect your home or business.
 
At SERVPRO of Medford we take pride in our ability to erase the damage done by water, including damages caused by hidden problems. After 48 hours of exposure to water, there is a risk of mold growth in wet materials. Our Medford, New York team of technicians put years of training, experience, and specialized equipment to work for you, ensuring the removal of all remaining moisture and a fast, effective drying process that you can count on. Our restoration specialists utilize infrared technology and thermal imagery to assess the full extent of the damage that your property has suffered. Using advanced technology can show our technicians areas where water might still exist based on a temperature difference. This process can ensure that the damage has not reached other areas of the building and confirm the completion of the restoration process.

SERVPRO of Medford responds quickly to your flood or water damage emergency with skilled technicians to your home, our team’s primary goal is to mitigate additional damages with preventative procedures and neutralize and recover sustained damages using expert skill, experience, and equipment.