Water damage restoration is a job for people who have the proper training, sufficient experience and the right equipment. While there might be some DIY tasks, the procedures for these cannot ensure the efficient and successful restoration of your possessions. In this article we attempt to scratch the surface to expose what experts do when starting with a water damage restoration project.
Water evacuation
The first objective of professionals in a water damage restoration operation is to get rid of that vast body of water in your property. These people usually attack the problem by using powerful portable extraction units that are mounted on trucks. This makes the water removal process faster. Most pumps are the submersible, gas-powered types to ensure continuous water evacuation even when the water levels are quite high.
Stabilizing the area
Flooding can cause structural instabilities. Hence, the next step in the early stages of a water damage restoration operation is ensuring the stability of your building. Many up-to-date professionals now use infrared thermal imaging cameras to survey the building from the outside. This allows them to check for any structural and moisture-related issues as well as the presence of some unwanted visitors such as snakes or rodents.
One indispensable tool in the early stages and throughout the whole water damage restoration operation is the moisture meter. Moisture meters allow the crew to assess the moisture content as well as possible sources of moisture in a building. It is important to determine the moisture content of some parts of your building. For example, if a lot of moisture is absorbed by wooden structures, they can be very unstable due to excessive swelling and distortion. Hence, it is important to determine the amount of moisture in them.
Ensuring your crew's safety
Even after turning off sources of electric power and gas, still one cannot be too sure that he is already safe from them. Hence, professionals always equip their crew with the right helmet, rubber gloves, and rubber boots. They are also equipped with respirator kits to protect them from possible dangerous gases and fumes. Some respirator kits include a full facepiece as well as filters against gas and mold spores. Ozone generators and air scrubbers are also deployed to get rid of harmful bacteria, mold and mildew in the surroundings.
Tiny as they are, mold spores can be very dangerous to the restoration crew. The effects can range from minor respiratory irritations to death. This alone can be reason enough why ill-equipped personnel are not advised to perform even the early stages of the operation on their own.
These are only some of the water damage restoration equipment used by professionals since the article has only covered the first few stages in a water damage restoration operation. There are still stages in the operation such as mold remediation, drying, disinfection, and many others. These stages also make use of a lot of sophisticated equipment. Thus, it is very evident that water damage restoration is absolutely a job for experts.
