Do Homeowners Have to Wait for Floodwater to Recede Before Cleanup Happens?

3/24/2022 (Permalink)

When a storm damaged this home, the owners called SERVPRO. We made the home, "Like it never even happened."

SERVPRO Techs Have the Equipment to Handle Deep Water Situations in Danbury Homes 

When floodwater enters a Danbury residence and is clearly becoming more than a mop and towel cleanup job, you can bring in SERVPRO. In fact, the faster you begin the restoration process, the more potential there is to save things from requiring disposal. In situations such as flooding from a tropical storm or hurricane, it can be days before the water begins to recede because there is nowhere for it to go.

Can Homeowners Save Anything in Their Homes After Extreme Flood Damage?

When the flood damage that flows into your Danbury home involves standing water, the situation is difficult, but not necessarily everything requires disposal. SERVPRO technicians use both submersible and truck-mounted pumps to remove the water quickly so they can begin inspecting items in the room for restoration potential. 

Staging areas get set up, so the scoping of articles removed from the room can get looked at and cleaned in an organized fashion. Items with the best potential for reuse after coming into floodwater are:

• Glass and ceramics that can withstand sanitizing
• Washable fabrics
• Non-porous items generally undergo immersion cleaning 

The ability to find some silver lining because some things are restorable helps homeowners find some positive aspects of the stressful situation. Items that frequently require disposal after coming into contact with floodwater are:

• Paper products
• Anything with mold
• Furniture with water damage
• Porous items that absorbed the water 

Consumer electronics do not usually fare well after exposure to water. However, on a case-by-case basis, SERVPRO can arrange for the devices to be inspected and repaired by an electronics expert; testing devices beforehand is never advised as there is the danger of shock or permanent destruction. 

The articles removed from the worksite have two primary destinations. Each item goes to either the staging area for restoration or another place where the techs document the item's condition in a report and photograph it. This information gets given to the homeowner to help them with filing and, hopefully, expediting any insurance claims associated with the water damage to the structure and contents.

The electricity being off in the property does not hinder the restoration services in the slightest. SERVPRO techs bring their generators to power their equipment. After removing the water from the home, the techs remove the deteriorated portions of sheetrock using flood cuts as needed. Then they remove ruined carpet or hardwood flooring. Laminate flooring tends to lose its grip on the substrate after exposure to water and may even be floating on the floodwater surface. There is one type of flooring that has the potential to withstand this type of water damage. Ceramic tile with sealed grout lines gets scoped to determine if any seepage occurred; if the seal remained intact, this flooring type can dry in place and save the homeowner the cost of replacement. 

Drying a Danbury home, particularly one without working electricity, can seem daunting. SERVPRO techs create the following configurations regularly to ensure the house dries quickly and air quality improves. At the same time, that process goes on using equipment such as:

• Centrifugal air movers to deliver high-velocity airflow
• Dehumidification equipment to capture and port away water vapor
• High-powered heating units to increase the interior temperature
• Air scrubbers to capture any airborne particulate, including mold spores 

The techs use their moisture detection equipment to check both the interior air and structure during the drying phase of the restoration to make sure the property is drying as intended. This attention to detail ensures that the area gets dried entirely and then prepped for the needed repairs. 

Most floodwater has a strong, pungent odor, which gets compounded when the water comes in due to a tropical storm or hurricane. SERVPRO technicians clean the structure thoroughly after drying, and this goes a long way towards eliminating odors. If there are any scents left lingering in the property, the techs have many methods to use to neutralize residual odors at the molecular level, never to return. 

At this time, a detailed inspection to look for the presence of any opportunistic mold growth occurs and gets dealt with as needed. The techs have access to professional-grade antimicrobial cleaning agents and sealants to treat any areas prone to mold damage, such as wood studs and exposed framework. 

Call SERVPRO of Danbury / Ridgefield at (203) 791-0920 when storms leave flood damage in your home. The certified technicians arrived quickly and turned around the damage in your home to make it, "Like it never even happened."