Curious about what it’s all about? Learn about the water damage restoration San Tan Valley, AZ process with this comprehensive guide.
Water damage restoration is the process of returning the property to how it was before water did the damage.
The restoration usually involves 5 processes, namely: inspection, extraction, dehumidification, sanitation, and reconstruction (if necessary).
You don’t need to have a qualification to do water damage restoration.
But it’s best to be performed by a water damage restoration near you.
A professional who is equipped with the right tools and knowledge to do so makes the process easy.
In this guide, you’ll learn the important aspects of water damage restoration.
Why is Water Damage Restoration Important?
Apart from being a cause, structural damage can be a result of water damage. This is one of the reasons why water damage restoration is important.
Water damage and structural damage can’t be separated. This means that when you notice one, certainly there’s the presence of the other.
Water damage can cause your walls, ceilings, and even floors to collapse.
Overlooking water damage or not acting fast to resolve it can also cause extended health risks from mold, bacteria, and pests.
Disregarding how important water damage restoration is reduces the knowledge, skill, and experience required to do such work.
And it also puts the lives of those living in the building at great risk.
The Major Causes of Water Damage
Knowing what caused the problem you’re supposed to fix is just the first step to solving it.
Specialists of monsoon water damage cleanup and restoration services are familiar with the major causes of water damage.
So, it’s not too difficult for them to locate the source of the problem when inspecting a property.
Here are the major causes of water damage:
- Natural disasters (e.g., fire) and rainy weather
- Septic tank and sewer backups
- Burst or leaking pipes
- Rubber or PVC water supply lines
- Broken household appliances
- Air conditioning unit condensation
- Clogged drains and gutters
- Old or faulty water heaters
- Inoperative sump pumps
- Inefficient roof water drainage
- Damaged sprinkler systems
- Water overflows from toilets
In addition to knowing where to look, water damage restoration near you specialists know what to look for.
They don’t just go around your property guessing.
Apart from the major causes listed above, water damage can still happen in other places that have never been affected.
So, in any case, their expertise or experience can make them spot the signs of water damage immediately.
Signs of Water Damage
In the water damage restoration process, one of the main procedures is being able to detect the signs of water damage proactively.
Here are the signs:
- Water stains
- Sagging or soft spots
- Structural damage
- Swollen or warped materials
- Peeling or bubbling paint
- Musty or damp odors
- Puddles of water
- Cracks on the ceiling or wall
- Mold or mildew
The Water Damage Restoration Process
The entire process of water damage restoration involves 5 easy steps. And we’ll look at them shortly:
1. Water Damage Inspection
This is the first step. It helps specialists determine the water source, level of contamination, and the extent of the water damage.
As mentioned in a previous section, you can trace the cause of water damage to the water source.
But there are instances where it’s still difficult to identify the water source, even when you already know the cause of water damage.
For example, flood water can soak into your property through various openings.
Once the flow of the water source has been found and stopped, the next thing the specialist does is to determine its level of contamination.
Determining the level of water contamination helps the specialist decide on how to carry out the exact decontamination process needed.
For example, wet porous materials (carpet, textiles, fiber-fill insulation, Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU), and gypsum board) and low evaporation materials (plaster, wood, concrete, and masonry) have expected times for drying and dehumidification.
So, knowing which of the two the specialist will be dealing with is important.
2. Eliminate Stagnant Water through Extraction
When the basement of a property is flooded, extracting the stagnant water becomes crucial.
For extraction, the specialists in water extraction San Tan Valley, Arizona, use extractors like industrial vacuums and submersible pumps.
Once the stagnant water has been extracted, portable wet/dry vacuums can be used to extract the surface water.
But even after vacuuming, you may still see residual surface water.
3. Dry and Dehumidify Affected Areas
In this step, the specialist uses equipment like heavy-duty fans with air movers and commercial-grade dehumidifiers to dry and dehumidify affected areas.
But, if the water damage is Class 3 or 4, the drying and dehumidification process will take longer than water removal, mainly because they may need to remove parts of walls and/or floors.
Also, they can open the windows and doors to allow natural air circulation to dry the affected areas.
4. Clean and Sanitize All Surfaces
The next step is to clean and sanitize everywhere. But before doing that, the specialist will put on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like gloves, goggles, an N95 mask, rubber boots, and protective overalls.
Here, the specialist also uses different kinds of equipment during sanitation, some of which are an air scrubber, a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) vacuum, and other types of negative air machines.
For a category 3 water damage, an antimicrobial solution must be used to clean all surfaces.
5. Repair and Reconstruct if Needed
In this final step of water damage restoration, the specialist will remove all the parts that can’t be restored, e.g., drywall below the flood line, carpet padding, and others.
Carpets can likely be replaced, even though you can still do a deep clean on them.
In some cases, if the water damage isn’t Class 4 or Category 3, wooden trim boards may be reused, and drywall can be repaired.
However, if the cause of the water damage is a natural disaster, reconstruction may be necessary.
Conclusion
So there you have it. A water damage restoration San Tan Valley, AZ complete guide.
So, when next you want a specialist to help with water damage restoration or DIY, you already have a good knowledge of how the entire process can go.
No doubt, the process can be very complicated at times.
But following the basic water damage restoration steps you’ve learned here can help you see that you do a practical and thorough water restoration.
