When it comes to emergency flood cleanup, quick response is critical. This doesn’t mean sacrificing quality or safety standards, though.
Water damage begins to swell up porous materials like wood, drywall, and floorboards when it sits for too long. This can lead to buckling, cracking, and even structural failure if not addressed immediately.
1. Minimize Damage
Water damage can lead to a variety of long-term issues for your home or business if not dealt with properly. Water will spread to and saturate all materials it comes into contact with, including structural components like wood and drywall. If left untreated, these materials will decompose and begin to rot or develop mold. This can weaken the structure of your building and create a host of health problems for anyone living or working inside of it.
Once the source of the water has been stopped and the power has been shut off, the first step in any restoration project should be to assess the damage and to take measures to remove as much standing moisture as possible. This may involve tearing out damaged materials (e.g. drywall down to the studs, carpet padding) in order to allow the area to dry more effectively. This will also help reduce the potential for secondary damage caused by the presence of mold and mildew.
2. Minimize Secondary Problems
Whether it’s due to a burst pipe, flooding, or severe rainstorm, water damage needs immediate response to prevent secondary problems. It’s important to work with a company that maintains professional business standards and can respond at any time of day or night, including weekends and holidays. They should be able to provide their clients with a reasonable time frame for responding to a call and a full inspection after arriving on the scene.
Leaving water damage untreated can lead to a variety of additional issues that can be difficult and expensive to resolve, such as mold and bacteria. These secondary problems can pose serious health risks for your employees and customers, so it’s critical to address them quickly. To minimize the amount of moisture that remains in the air, it’s often a good idea to use dehumidifiers in and around the affected area, which can help reduce the likelihood of mold and bacteria. Similarly, fans can also be used to circulate cooler, drier air and speed up the restoration process.
3. Minimize Downtime
Leaving water to sit in homes can cause secondary problems like mold and rot. Mold spores are spread by air and can be inhaled by occupants of the home, causing health issues. Water damage restoration Oak Harbor WA professionals can remove standing water and apply antimicrobial solutions to prevent the spread of mold spores.
Having a quick response time means homeowners don’t have to wait long to get their lives back to normal after a flood occurs. Many leading restoration companies offer call-backs within minutes and can arrive on site in just an hour.
Homeowners can minimize downtime even more by contacting their insurance company as soon as they see signs of flooding. This will help them get back to their home as quickly as possible, and will minimize the stress caused by the situation. A well-established restoration company can also reduce downtime by providing a detailed plan for water mitigation and working to ensure all steps are completed in a timely manner.
4. Documentation for Insurance Purposes
The aftermath of disasters is messy, and oftentimes, nothing can be done to restore what has been destroyed. But the damage caused can be largely mitigated by providing clients with the proper documentation required for insurance claims. This is why a quick response can be so beneficial for restoration companies—it allows them to document the full extent of the damage, minimize costs, and reduce downtime. Using an insurance policy form template can make the creation of these documents even faster and easier. These templates contain five sections: declaration, terms and conditions, coverage limits, agreements, and exclusions.
