Four Questions Riverside Residents have asked Regarding Water Damage Restoration

1/29/2020 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of West Riverside city has assisted Riverside County residents with almost every type of water damage situation imaginable.  As professionals in the water damage restoration industry, we field questions about the recovering from water damages.  Below are a few of the questions that we are asked.

Q: Should I clean up water damage myself?

As a business, you may expect us to say no.  The honest answer is that it depends on the situation.  If the water damage that your home or business has incurred is minimal, it may be easy to handle the job yourself.  Nevertheless, one consideration to keep in mind is how to determine the depth of the water damage.  If there is water leakage behind a wall or above a ceiling, the amount of damage that you see could be limited.  Water between walls or above the ceiling can lead to massive amounts of mold damage.

Keep in mind, we do free service call inspections, so our Project Managers or Crew Chief are more than happy to tell you whether or not this is something they think you can handle on your own.

Q: How long does the drying process take?

Naturally, all homeowners wonder when their house will be back to its normal self, and the answer usually depends on the extent of the damage.

Dry out times vary to a number of conditions.  For instance, the amount of humidity in the air has a great effect on how fast an area can dry.  As a rule of thumb, a normal-sized residence takes about 2 to 3 days to dry completely when it has sustained substantial water damage.

Further processes include:

1. Water Mitigation and Extraction

First, the company needs to curtail the effects of the flood water and moisture. This involves bringing in a heavy-duty extracting machine to remove the standing water. Next, the team has to prevent mold from growing. It only takes one day for mold to start growing. Finally, the professionals need to dry out the room using dehumidifiers and powerful drying systems. It generally takes about three days to do all this. The team needs to ensure the room is free of water damage before continuing on to the tear out stage.

The IICRC further separates water intrusion into four classifications:

• Class 1: Where a minimal amount of water has flowed onto materials that are predominately low porosity. This class of water damage requires limited mitigation and little moisture is left after the bulk of the water is removed, leaving a minimal amount of evaporation needed to finish drying. Examples would be a burst hot water tank on a sealed concrete floor or an overflowed toilet on a tile floor.
• Class 2: Where there is a significant amount of water discharged and the exposed materials are medium to high porosity. There is a greater absorption of water into the materials and the water damage process is lengthened by the volume of water that needs to be removed and a lengthened drying time. Examples would be a ruptured pressurized water line inside a gypsum board wall, or a wooden floor joist system.
• Class 3: Where a large amount of water, regardless of its category, is absorbed by highly porous materials, resulting in the highest rate of evaporation necessary to affect the water damage restoration process. Examples are a storm-forced leak, which floods a building’s interior and soaks carpeted areas, or broken water mains filling an underground parking area.
• Class 4: Where water intrudes and is trapped by building materials and assemblies, which makes the restoration process difficult, time-consuming and expensive. Affected areas are highly porous or tightly confined and require special methods and equipment, longer drying time or substantial vapor pressure differentials. Examples would be storm water flooding of wooden, plaster, masonry or concrete enclosures or a severe sewage backup that permeates floor and wall systems.

2. Reconstruction

The amount of time it takes to reconstruct a room ultimately depends on how much the water affected. Professionals typically need to remove the drywall because it often absorbs moisture. Any insulation behind the wall usually also needs to be removed in case the water has compromised that. If the flooding occurred in a room with carpeting, then all of it must be taken out and replaced with something else. Depending on exactly how much damage occurred, it can take anywhere between a few days and a couple weeks to complete the work.

Q: Do I need to leave my home during water damage restoration?

If your residence has sustained a lot of water damage, the first concern you should have is your safety.  When major repairs are taking place, the indoor air quality suffers greatly.  Breathing in water-damaged (and often activated mold spores) air is unhealthy.  When we are commissioned to handle major repairs it is extremely likely that we’ll recommend for the client to evacuate the home.

Q: Do I have to use the Restoration company my insurance company recommends?

Absolutely not.  As a homeowner (or business owner) you can and should use the restoration company of your choice. 

Do I have to use SERVPRO?  Nope, you don't have to!  But you should.  SERVPRO is an industry-leader when it comes to water damage cleanup.  We are backed by a fantastic team, excellent training, and we have all divisions in-house to help you handle your job from start to finish so you aren't dealing with various contractors.

Do you have additional questions?  Give us a call today!

SERVPRO of West Riverside City

(951) 351-8033