Be it any household or a business firm, fire damages are surely one of the worst nightmares. These Fire Damages bring with them residential and commercial water damages whether by starting the sprinkler system or having the fire department putting it off using massive amounts of water, thereby resulting in huge amount of property losses. That’s where the role of residential and commercial water damage restoration houses comes in. This little guide about water damage and how it is restored will keep you informed if any such damage takes place, thus ensuring a hassle free restoration process.
WHAT IS WATER DAMAGE?
When water enters into the building, it generally harms the materials inside due to various biological and chemical processes like rusting, rotting and delamination. This not only harms the property but also brings many harmful situations along.
Many people believe that there’s only one type of water damage. However, this is not the case. There are different water types and each should be catered using a particular water restoration strategy.
CATEGORY 1
This category caters to ‘completely clean water’. It doesn’t bring any harm to any species. Overflowing sinks, ice and snow fall into this category.
CATEGORY 2
Popularly referred to as ‘grey’ water, this water contains elements that are harmful for the health. For example, leakages from washing machine ad toilet water contain certain contaminants that can cause serious ailments.
CATEGORY 3
This category consists of the most harmful water and can even result into situations like death. Referred to as ‘black water’, it includes water with faeces and sewer water.
THE WATER DAMAGE RESTORATION PROCESS
Water damage restoration process follows a detailed step-by-step guide to minimize the loss due to water damage.
1) REMOVAL OF EXCESS WATER
Reduction of excess water is the first thing that needs to be done to prevent any kind of damage. Depending on factors like depth and severity various measures are taken into consideration.
2) EVAPORATION, DEHUMDIFICATION AND TEMPERATURE CONTROL
After the excess water is removed, it is very important to ensure the evaporation of the left over water. This is easily attainable through ‘convective drying’ since it ensures that no fungal growth takes place in this entire process.
3) INSPECTION
After taking these measures, all the damage that has taken place is taken care of through inspection. This inspection consists of four major steps:
-STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
-FLOOR COVERINGS
-LEVEL OF CONTAMINATION
-HVAC SYSTEM
4) REPAIRING AND RECONSTRUCTION
All that can be corrected in this entire process falls under the category of ‘Repairing and Reconstruction’. This involves reconstruction of materials that can’t be repaired. Floors, walls, ceilings are generally reconstructed after such damages.
If followed properly, the water restoration process can be helpful to quite an extent since it minimizes the losses largely. However, one should not rely on any commercial disaster restoration agency. It’s only after researching and reviewing various agencies that provide similar services that one knows which one provides the best services as far as water damage restoration is concerned. Trusting the professionals is the safest decision in this case.