Fire damage might get more attention, but water damage is the leading cause of damage in homes and businesses. Water can come from many sources and has a couple of qualities that make water leaks or flooding especially dangerous. Water creates a great environment for mold to grow, which creates a health hazard. Corrosion and rot can begin to set in quickly too. Water gets under cabinets and into walls through tiny cracks in baseboards where wood can begin to rot and mold can begin to grow.
In short, there are many reasons to get professional restoration help after a leak or a flood. Before and after a leak or flood, you can take steps to minimize harm to your home. If there is already significant water damage, your best option is to call us and let us fix the damage professionally.
More About Water Damage:
Water damage can be underestimated. A few gallons of water can cause serious issues if water seeps into the floor through vinyl tiles or under wooden cabinets.
Problems can begin just a few hours after a leak or flood appears. The water will begin damaging wood, drywall, and certain metals in that time. Water that soaks into wood flooring or beams in the wall or wood subfloors can cause mold growth in 24 hours. This mold will do more damage to the damp wood, while the spores create a health hazard.
If you’ve had a leak in the kitchen or a flood in the basement, don’t delay in calling our Denver, CO office.
Standard Damage Restoration Steps
Once we take on the job we assess the scope of the problem and provide a cost estimate. When the cleanup process starts it usually involves these steps:
- Dry out the area with industrial fans.
- Remove visible water. This is usually just a starting point in the process.
- Dry out damp wood, flooring, drywall, and other surfaces.
- If necessary, mold removal along with odor removal.
Water that seeps into floors or under cabinets is not easy to remove. so we apply some professional tools and techniques to prevent hidden damage and future mold growth.
During the cleaning and drying process, we do our best to protect personal belongings too.
If the area already has mold, we can sanitize the area. Bleach and over-the-counter mold treatments can’t be 100% relied on to eliminate mold and mildew. Further, those products can’t affect mold spores that are already in the room. We can use equipment with HEPA filters to remove the mold spores, preventing new mold growth and making the air healthier.
Open communication is also part of our process. We’ll make sure you understand what our technicians are doing at each step of the process. Read on to learn more about our water damage restoration process.
The Water Removal Process
Our first step is to remove damaged or waterlogged items from the area. In addition to obvious items like books, furniture, area rugs, and electronics, we may also pull out the carpet. Depending on the situation, we may also remove baseboards and waterlogged sections of drywall.
If there is a significant amount of water in the area, we can use industrial-grade pumping equipment to remove standing water. One of our technicians will monitor the process to be sure that moisture levels are back to normal. After the water has been removed it will be carried away and disposed of. Then, the usual damage restoration process begins.
We will inspect the area for signs of mold and mold damage as soon as the cleaning and drying are done. Depending on what we find, this may be the last step before damage restoration begins. If there is mold, we will have to take a few extra steps.
Drying and Dehumidifying
We start by removing any standing water. Any personal belongings or furniture still in the area would have to be removed. Then, we can begin to dry out the area with industrial fans, which are quite loud. Dehumidifiers will be used alongside fans to pull out even more water, which our technicians will dispose of elsewhere.
Carpet Rescue and Cleaning
Carpets that have been waterlogged can have mildew grow, which creates an unpleasant odor and can be a health hazard.
Our first step would be to evaluate the carpet, to see if it can be saved. If so, we will extract as much moisture as possible with water extraction equipment. Then, we will use fans or dehumidifiers to remove any remaining moisture. After the drying process is done, we’ll return furniture and other items to the area.
Mold Remediation
Sometimes, mold growth is impossible to avoid. If lingering moisture has led to mold, we’ll follow several steps to contain and reverse the mold contamination:
- Containment – We may have to close doors and windows until the area is clean, or we may need to take additional steps. Sometimes, we have to use large polypropylene barriers to seal off the area, if the mold problem is severe. In those cases, we may also use a HEPA fan to create negative air pressure in the moldy area.
- Deodorizing – Once the mold is removed, we’ll deodorize your space. The odor usually clears up on its own after a few days. If that doesn’t happen, we will deodorize the affected area.
- Cleaning and Sanitizing – We use a wet vacuum, wipes, towels, or other tools to clean the affected area and contents.
- HEPA filtering and vacuuming – HEPA filtering and vacuum is part of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard for mold remediation. These ultrafine filters can remove mold spores that regular filters or vacuums will not catch.
We will also clean and sanitize everything in the affected area. After the water damage is restored and the mold problem is cleaned up, we may come back for a final cleaning visit. This treatment minimizes the risk of future mold problems.
The last step is to remove any remaining water using HEPA vacuums or different equipment with HEPA filters.
You Can Minimize Mold and Water Damage
If you’ve had a leak or flood, here are things you can do to minimize the damage:
- Turn off the water at the source.
- Soak up as much standing water as you can using a mop or towels. Use a wet vac if you have one and it is safe to plug in an appliance.
- Start the drying process by opening windows in cold weather or running the air conditioning in hot weather. Use caution before turning on any electrical appliances though.
- Remove any waterlogged items to dry them in the sun or in a dry room, for fur and leather.
- Call us so we can begin our cleanup and restoration work as soon as possible.
Don’t delay if you need water damage restoration in Denver.
Call Our Denver CO Water Damage Restoration Experts
If your home or business has suffered flooding, no matter how small the flood, you want to consult with water damage experts in Denver to clean up properly..
