If your home has been exposed to substantial water damage, whether from a flood, a hurricane, or a burst pipe, you’ll need to have it remediated by a professional. Leaving a water-damaged home to dry out on its own will cause structural damage to the home and invite stubborn mold growth.
How does that damage repair work, though? What do the professionals do that you can’t take care of on your own?
Water remediation experts have access to industrial-grade equipment that helps them get the job done quickly; think dehumidifiers, powerful vacuums, and air scrubbers. They’ve also got the benefit of experience on their side! The remediation pros at 1-800-Dry-Me-Out have saved countless homes across the Tampa area from succumbing to permanent water damage.
Want to learn more about the world of water remediation? 1-800-Dry-Me-Out has you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about the process.
Defining Water Remediation
What is water remediation, exactly?
Simply put, it’s the process of restoring a home to its condition before the water damage occurred. Damage repair experts clean, dry, and sanitize the home and its contents to get them back to the way they were. There are a few different elements involved in the remediation process: mitigation and restoration, in that order.
Mitigation
Water damage mitigation aims to lessen the effect of the damage on your property and prevent it from spreading or worsening. During mitigation, technicians remove any damaged items and materials, from waterlogged furniture to crumbling drywall. They sanitize everything that’s salvageable and remove all the excess water from the home.
Mitigation must be performed before any restoration can take place. This step does not repair or replace anything, but it stops the water from doing more damage.
Restoration
Once the water damage has been mitigated and technicians have ensured that the excess water and moisture are all gone, they can begin the restoration process. They repair or replace any structural elements of your home that have been damaged, like drywall and flooring.
Before the specialists finish the job, they will conduct moisture and humidity tests around your home to confirm that all the damage has been sufficiently fixed.
Categories of Water Damage
Before water remediation experts can restore your home to its pre-loss condition, they’ll have to inspect the home and the extent of the damage. Categorizing the type of damage you’re dealing with can help them remediate it!
There are three main categories of water damage, delineated by the type of water that caused the destruction: category 1, category 2, and category 3 water damage.
Category 1
Category 1 damage is caused by clean water, or water that’s not contaminated or harmful to humans. It’s often the result of household plumbing malfunctions, like leaky pipes, overflowing bathtubs, or burst hot water heaters.
Category 2
Category 2 damage involves grey water, or water that’s contaminated by chemicals or microorganisms like bacteria. Appliance failures are often the culprit with grey water damage—think broken sump pumps or overflowing dishwashers. You probably won’t be harmed by coming into contact with grey water, but you will likely get sick if you ingest it.
Category 3
Category 3 damage comes from black water, which is contaminated by raw sewage and is highly unsanitary. Remediation professionals typically wear hazmat suits and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to mitigate and restore black water damage.
Classes of Water Loss
The categories of water damage deal primarily with the source of the water, and knowing the extent of your home’s water damage can help restoration pros decide how to move forward with mitigation and restoration. Now, let’s talk about the classes of water damage, which describe the amount of water and the extent of the destruction itself.
Class 1
Class 1 water loss only affects part of the home—or even just part of a single room. Carpets and upholstery are generally not seriously damaged, and there isn’t a great deal of standing water. Plywood, particle board, and concrete are the most likely materials to be damaged in a class 1 water loss.
Class 2
Class 2 water loss affects an entire room. Water seeps into carpets and cushions, and moisture gets a deeper hold on structural plywood. Remediation professionals typically find water stains on walls up to 2 feet off the ground in this type of water loss.
Class 3
Class 3 water loss damages multiple rooms in the home, if not the entire residence. Ceilings, drywall, and insulation are highly likely to be compromised. This type of damage often comes from water pouring in overhead and flooding whole rooms.
Class 4
Class 4 water loss involves deep pockets of water saturation throughout the entire home that are inaccessible to traditional water removal methods. Hardwood floor planks are completely soaked, and water fills crawlspaces and gets trapped behind sheetrock walls.
The Remediation Process
When you call for water damage repair in Tampa, the remediation professionals will quickly and thoroughly determine the category and class of your damage. Then, they’ll get to work on the mitigation and restoration of the damage.
Water Extraction
In order to mitigate damage to your home and possessions, damage repair technicians will move any salvageable items out of harm’s way and begin to extract water from your home. They’ll use extractors, which are high-powered vacuum cleaners designed to pull water out of carpets, upholstery, and other materials.
Demolition
If there are any building materials in your home that can’t be salvaged, they’ll need to be removed completely. Drywall and various flooring materials that have been damaged too severely will be knocked out and removed from the home, and will need to be disposed of and replaced.
Thorough Drying
With the use of dehumidifiers and powerful air movers, water damage repair experts will continue to pull moisture out of your home. This step must be completed thoroughly before any actual repairs can take place, or the remaining moisture will breed mold and damage the integrity of the building.
Antimicrobial Treatment
To make absolutely sure that bacteria won’t stick around in the house, technicians then apply antimicrobial disinfectants to every surface. They may also attach an air scrubber to the HVAC system to pull harmful germs and mold spores out of the air.
Restoration
Once the home has been completely dried and sanitized, necessary repairs can finally be performed. Fresh drywall, new flooring, and other essential building materials can be installed to restore the home to its pre-damage condition. Often, personal belongings like clothing and electronics will be taken off-site to be sanitized and restored.
Water damage remediation is a thorough and involved process, but one that damage repair professionals are prepared to tackle. 1-800-Dry-Me-Out has compiled this guide to everything you need to know about the remediation process, so you know what to expect when the technicians arrive.
While sustaining water damage to your home can be a traumatic experience, we’re here to help you mitigate that damage and salvage as much as you can. If your home has been affected by water damage, don’t wait—call 1-800-Dry-Me-Out today!
