What Does Water Clean Up in A Home Involve?

9/28/2020 (Permalink)

Let SERVPRO take over your water damage clean up in Syracuse.

SERVPRO Sends Fully Kitted Crews to Perform Water Clean-Up in Affected Syracuse Properties, Guaranteeing a Positive Outcome

Water cleanup may sound like a straightforward procedure only involving stagnant water extraction and drying of wet items in an affected property. However, that is rarely the case since cleanup can involve other difficult tasks depending on the water source and other issues caused by the water loss incident. SERVPRO provides the resources needed to conveniently restore Syracuse properties to their preloss state after any incident that leaves water in unwanted areas of the property.

How does the source influence the water cleanup process in a Syracuse home?

The origin of the water affecting your property can present several challenges depending on factors like:

• Location of the leak within the property
• The condition of the spilled water
• The volume of water involved

The water released into your Syracuse house can originate from any section of the property, such as within the ceiling and walls or in open areas such as around sinks or baths. An elevated source can spread moisture over a vast area because of gravitational flow. On the other hand, a leak originating within an enclosed space complicates the cleanup process by necessitating demolition. If the water is released in a trickle, discovery is likely to take time, allowing secondary issues like mold and other forms of material deterioration to develop. Our SERVPRO technicians can simplify restoration under these conditions since we have advanced equipment and the training to tackle them.

Why does the condition of the water affect cleanup?

Leaks or other intrusions can release water with different levels of soiling. For easier identification of the water condition, or what to expect during the cleanup, spilled water can be categorized in three ways:

• Clean water
• Greywater 
• Blackwater

The categorization helps identify the level of soiling or contamination and thus the cleanup steps needed. Water leaks from plumbing lines or appliances are mostly clean or greywater cases since there are no contaminants involved. Regular cleanup procedures are therefore sufficient. However, since microbial processes occur when water sits in a property over extended periods, the greywater can turn into black water, necessitating decontamination processes. Our SERVPRO technicians can help prevent such adverse outcomes since we respond fast when notified of the incident and expedite the cleanup processes using state of the art equipment.

What needs clean up first?

The course of action taken when cleaning a house differs depending on factors like:

• The sections of the property affected by the water
• The vulnerability to moisture damage of materials involved  
• The property size

When an incident affects one room or a limited section of the property, decision-making is easier since the volume of the water involved is minimal. The affected materials and type of soiling are also likely to be uniform. For instance, the floor might be carpeted, tiled, or wooden in the entire area, so you do not have to worry about what to prioritize. In such cases, a straightforward approach, such as removing standing water, drying the wet materials, and applying antimicrobial products on surfaces, is sufficient. 

If the spilled water spreads all over the house, you have to prioritize some actions or areas to limit the damage levels by the time cleanup is over. Our SERVPRO technicians can help with this by inspecting your property to establish priority areas. For instance, if the standing water affects different rooms with different types of flooring such as carpets, wood, concrete, or tiles, we prioritize extraction from wood or carpet floors before checking the concrete or tiled areas. Water can cause delamination in carpets or buckling in hardwood floorboards. Since such problems are irreversible, removing water from such surfaces during cleanup should be given priority.

Issues like running dyes, stains, mold, or bad odor development can ruin the outcome of the cleaning exercise. Taking steps that minimize the chances of such issues developing is crucial.  In most cases, working fast, moving colorfast materials away from areas with vulnerable items should help prevent those problems. Our SERVPRO technicians help in different ways, including testing the affected materials and providing resources such as hand carts for moving heavy furniture items. We also incorporate finishing processes such as deodorization into the cleanup. For instance, we mix water based deodorizers with the cleaning solutions to ensure any odors are replaced with a sweet scent. 

In general, the cleanup of a house after a water spill takes more than just applying products and agitating surfaces. Proper planning is necessary to ensure smooth operations also to prevent secondary problems that develop due to delays.

SERVPRO of East Onondaga County can clean up your property after an incident, "Like it never even happened." Call us at any time at (315) 446-8776.