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Gear to stop the fear of Water Damage
6/16/2020 (Permalink)
Water Cleanup is more than water extraction. The Drying process is key.
As a home or business owner, the fear and anxiety of the possibility of water damage are real. Mostly because we have seen or heard the outcome and headache it can be. SERVPRO of Black Hawk County has answered many calls of water loss and we are grateful for the opportunity to help. We are qualified and equipped to clean up the mess as fast we can to prevent further damage and restore you to a home and business that functions. After we extract water, there are a few pieces of equipment that we utilize to make a water loss like it never even happened.
Sensing more than the eye can see…
We have two different technologies that we can use to detect moisture in hidden places. One of the moisture readers is a 2-pin Moisture Sensor that has 2 pins that can penetrate through wood, carpet, carpet padding, and drywall to find an accurate reading of the wetness of the area. This can help us determine how far the water has spread. The other technology to detect water is an Infrared Moisture Reader that can detect moisture through a thermal reading. Sometimes water damage is not as obvious but there are suspicions because of the humidity in a room, or the smell of mildew. An example of when we had to use this is after we found some mold in a basement. The homeowner’s basement flooded and decided to try to clean it up on their own. They extracted the water and set up fans everywhere. The floors and walls all felt dry. After a few weeks, we received the call for mold cleanup. After using the Thermal Moisture Reader, we found their downstairs cabinets, the walls behind it, the closets, and some parts of the ceiling were still wet!
Humid, sticky & wet… we’ll use a Dehumidifier.
Another equipment that we use is a Dehumidifier or as we (restoration specialists) like to call it, Dehus (pronounced Dee-hue). A dehumidifier helps reduce water in the air and maintain the level of humidity in the air. We set this up every time we work on a water loss to prevent the growth of mold. You would be surprised by all the water it collects from the air.
Dry. Dry. Dry.
We use various types of air movers to ensure the home or business is completely dry. Air movers are often compared with fans but unlike fans, air movers can be much more precise and often have a higher air velocity. We place several air movers around the area. If you walk into a water loss job, you can find several air movers on an axis frame directed up towards the wall, down toward the flooring, low central air movers alongside the walls, and air movers that direct airflow directly above the flooring. The placement of the air movers is always intentional. Our production manager speaks to our customers about the importance of the placement of the equipment and not to turn any of it off.
If you decide to clean up water damage yourself, we would love to be a resource to you. You can give us a call for any questions or even call us over to inspect the water loss and help evaluate the scope of the damage.