Four Things Point Peasant Property Owners Need to Know About Water Damage

6/17/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO drying equipment in the utility room where cause of water loss occurred.

Here are the four things to know about a water loss in your Point Pleasant home:

• Contact your insurance carrier immediately. As soon as you discover water damage, let your insurance carrier know so the claims process can begin. Your agent will also give you tips for protecting your property from additional damage and may refer you to a water-damage restoration company (you are not obligated to use the specialist they recommend). Note: Insurance companies differentiate between water damage and flood damage, so be sure to specify which applies to your situation. Also, not all water damage is covered by insurance—review your policy carefully.
• Time is of the essence when you have water damage. Water is aggressive and cruel. Once it seeps in to carpets, flooring, walls, furniture, paper, and everything else in its wake, it will continue to destroy. Drywall will droop and disintegrate. Wood will swell, buckle, warp, and rot. Electrical equipment may short out, causing shock and fire hazards. Mold will flourish. For anything other than a minor spill, it’s best you get a professional assessment of your situation to determine the extent of damage. Professional water-damage specialists can then begin the restoration process and halt additional damage.
• You’ve got less than 48 hours to dry out before mold takes over. Mold spores lurk everywhere, but they’re opportunistic. Give them a nice wet environment—like a soaked carpet or damp drywall—and they’ll multiply like mad. You have 24 to 48 hours to dry your space before the fungus invasion. Mold remediation is a dirty deed and is best left to specialists who have the right equipment and cleaning supplies to get the job done swiftly.
• Water may be contaminated. An overflowing dishwasher or burst water heater releases clean H₂O, so there’s little immediate risk of harm. But, again, time is not on your side. “Clean” water that’s been sitting around can foster bacterial growth or pick up icky stuff from dirty carpets and ground soil, sullying the waters within hours. Even more serious: Sewage backups, toilet overflow, storm-drain water, and other polluted waters that enter your home can be dangerous to your health. Attempting to clean these messes up yourself is a bad idea. Get professional help from certified water-damage remediation experts, like SERVPRO of Point Pleasant.

Since every water damage scenario is a little different, each water cleanup is also different.  SERVPRO of Point Pleasant knows how to handle all water emergencies. Call us today at (732) 202-3001.