Storm flooding can tear into a home, quickly destroying small items along with upholstered furniture and drapes.

2/22/2019 (Permalink)

Water Removal

Storm flooding can tear into a home, quickly destroying small items like books and magazines along with upholstered furniture and drapes which can bleed color soon after becoming soaked. It is necessary to get the stormwater out of the home promptly to prevent further damage.

That means SERVPRO technicians have to goals when it comes to water removal  We work to minimize the damage which has already occurred and to prevent further damage from even beginning.

We start with preventing more water from entering the house. Since the problem is stormwater, we may have to lay down sandbags or some other method to prevent more water entering as we use pumps to remove standing water inside. The pumps we use are adjustable to match the level and overall amount of water in the home. Even in a large home, we can clear out the water in less than a day. The sandbags may also be necessary to prevent any water pumped out from re-entering the home.

After removing the majority of the water SERVPRO technicians concentrate on the carpets and floors. To remove moisture trapped in the carpet fibers and between floorboards, we bring in extraction wands. We can adjust these devices to draw out water quickly, but without causing any secondary damage to the nape of the carpet or the wood floors.

Our next task is to lift the carpets and remove any pads underneath them. Pads begin to disintegrate soon after becoming soaked, and it is much cheaper for us to remove them than to attempt to dry them. To dry out any remaining moisture, we place air movers at key points to force warm air under the carpet and exhaust fans to draw out the damp air already present.

To dry out wood floors, we use the same fans and air movers. If we detect a large amount of moisture in the sub-floor, technicians lift a floorboard at entry and exit points to force warm air underneath and dry the space out.