Steps SERVPRO uses during the Mitigation Process

2/11/2019 (Permalink)

Once help arrives, the first thing SERVPRO will do is inspect the home and evaluate the damage. In order to properly evaluate the damage, we use special tools and instruments to measure the moisture content of the home. To do this, we either poke or rest the instruments on top of surfaces like floors, baseboards and ceilings in the damaged rooms to get an accurate reading. Depending on the moisture content readings and Institution of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) dry standards for the state you live in, SERVPRO will assess if drying equipment is needed.

PREVENTION OF FURTHER DAMAGE

The longer water damage sits untreated, the more likely it is that additional damage can occur. If it’s determined that drying equipment is needed, dehumidifiers will often be placed in the home to prevent against further damage like mold growth while SERVPRO is waiting for approval from the insurance company, if one is involved. Dehumidifiers can be present for one or multiple nights depending on factors such as the length of time the water has been present and the source of the leak. 

REMOVAL OF STANDING WATER

It’s time for one of the most important steps: removing any standing water from the home. The removal process is actually much less complicated than you may think. SERVPRO uses extraction equipment, sucking up all the water that’s present in the area. The amount of time this phase takes varies depending on the type of substrate that’s being dried, the size of the room and the total amount of water that’s present.

DRYING

Once any standing water has been removed, it’s time to start drying out the home. SERVPRO will bring in different types of air movers (think of these like glorified fans) to help circulate air flow throughout the room. Don’t be surprised if they need to lift up a section of the carpet or position one of the air movers at certain sections of the walls to ensure air is getting to the most saturated parts of the room. If you have hardwood floors, they may use floor mats which help draw the water out of the floor. If needed, they might even remove the baseboards and drill holes into the drywall to help the walls dry faster. While some of these methods may sound extreme, they’re making every effort to dry the home without having to demolish and rebuild, which could add multiple weeks to the project timeline and become very costly.

CONTAINMENT

The containment and drying phases happen simultaneously. While drying out the home, wet areas are taped off in order to concentrate the heat and suction to the rooms that need to be dried out. Containment is critical as it enables the work crew to maintain the environment of the room and dry the home as quickly and efficiently as possible.

MONITORING

Throughout the drying process, crews will stop by periodically to monitor how the drying is progressing. Specifically, they monitor the dehumidifiers’ intake and output temperatures and humidity levels to make sure the dehumidifiers aren’t putting wet air out into the room. They’ll also go back and take readings of the same surfaces they did during the inspection phase. As rooms are declared dry, crews will often move equipment around to other areas of the home that are still wet.

COMPLETION

Once the home has been returned to its previous dry state, the water damage cleanup process is considered complete. At this point the drying equipment will be removed from the home and your contractor will confirm you’re satisfied with the work.

REPAIR OF ADDITIONAL DAMAGE

After the water damage cleanup process is complete, if additional structural repairs are needed, SERVPRO will repair any damage in the home that drying wasn’t able to fully address.