Flood Damage Repair

Flood damage repair and disaster cleanup is our business. Homes, businesses, schools, government buildings, commercial properties – all of them have need of regular flood repair. Over time, construction has improved so there are less floods, and thus needs for flood damage repair. However, pipe breaks and swamp cooler leaks still do, and probably will, always happen. So, having the number for a disaster restoration company listed somewhere in your home will always be a smart move.

At 1-800 Water Damage of Western Colorado we don’t want to just be the restoration contractor you call when you need flood damage repair for large-scale disaster cleanup services. We want to provide education and basic steps you can take to both prevent water damage, and to clean small water damage on your own – or to at least provide you with expectations for steps we’ll take when we arrive. When you do have the need for water damage repair at your home or property because the damage is extensive, you’ll know you can trust us at 1-800 Water Damage.

Flood Damage Repair Tips 

Here’s a few basic flood damage repair tips you can use in your home for very small water damage leaks:

Mop 

The first step of water removal is to extract as much surface water as possible. The more water you can soak up with a mop, the less you’ll have to dehumidify later.

Grab a bucket and your favorite moisture-soaking tool and get to work. Don’t’ be afraid to mop baseboard, walls, and even ceilings – if needed – in addition to the floor. It may seem strange, but the more water soaked up in the early stages, the easier it will be for you to get every ounce of water removed.

When 1-800 Water Damage professionally restores a home or property water loss, our first step is also to extract standing water. Of course, we use equipment much more advanced than a mop, but the principle is the same. If you have a situation that requires more drying power than a mop can provide, that’s a good indicator that you may need professional help.

Dehumidify

The quality of dehumidifier you can buy at any store compared to what we use at 1-800 Water Damage of Western Colorado is incomparable. Most store-bought dehumidifiers are simply meant to balance out a home’s climate for comfort. The commercial-grade dehumidifiers we use, professionally, are specifically built for large-scale water extraction from a home’s porous material. We’re not just extracting moisture from humid air. The drying chambers we create are capable of extracting water from subfloor and other difficult-to-dry areas. However, the process of dehumidifying is an important one, regardless of equipment available. Even if your best option is to open up windows on a hot summer day, do so.

When a leak or flood happens, the water from the leak permeates into all porous material including drywall, floorboards, carpet, and virtually everything else in your home (even stone and concrete, to some degree). The more water that floods in to the area, the harder it is to extract with a store-bought dehumidifier. And, the longer the water sits on top of porous material, the harder it is to extract. It doesn’t take very much flood damage sitting for very long on materials in a home for it to really soak in there and become a job for water damage repair experts. Keep that in mind when you start a do-it-yourself flood damage repair project of any kind.

As a final note on this section, fans alone do not remove water. There seems to be a myth that simply putting a fan on a water damaged area is the proper method for drying. Without dehumidification, however, no fan will ever suffice.

Open Windows

As mentioned above, and as an extension of dehumidification, only open windows if the temperature outside is warm, the humidity is extremely low, and it’s not raining or snowing outside. If it’s cold outside or humid at all, do no open windows. Outside air only helps evaporate water if the air outside is warmer and dryer than what’s already in the home. Otherwise, having windows open may actually make fully and properly drying the home more difficult (if not impossible).

That means that if you have your home set to 70 degrees Fahrenheit and it’s 60 degrees Fahrenheit outside, don’t open the windows. Or, if it’s 80 degrees Fahrenheit outside but 80% humidity, definitely don’t open the windows. There’s a whole science used by flood damage repair companies, called psychrometry. Psychrometry allows professionals to measure the benefits and possibilities of using outside air as part of our drying strategy. There’s a lot more to the science behind the advice given here. But in general, only open windows if it’s both warmer and dryer outside, than inside.

Also note that if the water damage is extensive, even opening windows won’t be enough to fully extract all the water. It can certainly help, but isn’t a replacement for professional service.

Place Fans

Again, 1-800 Water Damage has far better equipment than can be found in stores, for creating air movement. But, if you have a small spot of water spillage in your home or property, place box fans near your dehumidifier or an open window to get warm, dry air near the affected area. Air movement helps circulate humidity around the room, and help your dehumidifier extract more water. You don’t need a lot of fans – just enough to create consistent airflow. You don’t need fans that oscillate or do anything fancy.

You should never attempt water damage repair yourself on a job large enough where moving around fans would be necessary.   

1-800 Water Damage of Western Colorado

Even if you set a dehumidifier and fans, open windows, and everything “looks and feels dry,” don’t be fooled. Unless you want to buy a moisture meter of your own to scientifically and objectively measure moisture levels in your drywall and subfloor, you should call a disaster restoration company to verify that your home has reached “dry standard.”

The worst thing that can happen is that you think you’ve dried out your home but then end up googling “how to remove mold” 6 months later. If you contact a professional flood damage repair company, like 1-800 Water Damage, we can verify that your home is dry and save you the headache down the road. Even better, we can dry your home for you.

If your home or property does end up with mold, the cost of repair will likely be far higher. The main reason is that, in most cases, insurance covers water damage repair – so long as it’s sudden and accidental. However, since mold takes a while to grow it’s typically considered either a “maintenance issue” or policyholder negligence. Plus, mold comes with all kinds of health risks. In all cases, it’s better to make sure that water damage is handled properly, from the beginning.

Flood Damage Repair Experts

Our team at 1-800 Water Damage of Western Colorado are flood damage repair experts. We work with all insurance companies, and make training our team in the latest repair methods our top priority. We even routinely educate experts in the insurance, property management, and realty industries, for their continuing education needs. We provide educational classes on flood damage repair and other related topics to hotels, hospitals, major health facilities, governmental facilities managers, and insurance adjusters.

1-800 Water Damage of Western Colorado makes it our mission to educate people on flood repair, disaster cleanup of all kinds, and how to find the best restoration contractor in their area.