Water damage is one of the devastating experiences to see your home and property ruined while you watch helplessly. It could bring danger to occupants, especially if the unfolding of events caught you unaware.
The first step is to call flood services experts to deal with the mess to prevent further damage immediately. The water drying process is the most critical step and frustrating because you cannot know how long it’ll take to complete.
If you tackle the water from spreading further within 24 or 48 hours that can help prevent you from incurring more losses.
How long does it take for water damage to dry?
There are several aspects you need to consider before you successfully contain the whole situation. For instance, rather than first starting the drying process immediately, you need to salvage unaffected items and put them in secure space.
Depending on the extent of water damage, sometimes it may take between 5 days to several weeks. Sometimes it may take even 2 days when water extent is not that serious.
Saturated areas take time to recover, and with the help of professionals, they can handle the situation with care and speed to lessen long term damages using their drying tools.
The helpful and straightforward approach is to open building doors and windows to let the air out. First, check whether humidity more inside than outside.
Put dry rugs outside the building and place wet furniture on top to dry fast. If you have fans in your house, let them run to circulate air, but avoid the HVAC system if it was part of the items subjected by the flood.
How Do You Dry Water Damage?
The most effective approach is not to allow emotion overtake you when drying water damage. When you allow professionals to take the lead, the process becomes more manageable.
You need to identify the water source and cut the flow from additional flooding to your home space. The next step is to disconnect the electricity and move children, pets, plus anything that may interfere with the cleaning process.
When everything is clear, assess whether the type of water in your home is clean, contaminated or dirty. If the water is clean, you are assured it poses no health risk to your family and property.
But suppose the water is dirty or contaminated. In that case, that is risky, and only experts can work in such condition because they have chemicals, clothes, plus tools to work around such an unsafe environment. Don’t be alarmed when you see this happen as there is a way to restore that.
Give flood professionals space to safeguard your home and only get involved when you have tools to handle dirty or contaminated water.
Drying Methods
The moment you are aware of your home environments and have checked the water is no longer a threat to you, here is a workable solution to dry water.
- Fan
- Dehumidify
- Air Drying
The three drying mechanisms are mentioned above but now use them until all areas are dry maximally. If you combine the three techniques simultaneously, you tend to speed up and accelerate the drying process.
Even after you see water disappearing and you can no longer feel it that doesn’t mean the place is dry. Comb every area of your home as walls could have wetness which may cause cracking and swelling. The wall may further attract mold to grow and bring more damage to your building.
Additionally, the wetness may have its way to the foundation of your building and start causing mold to grow underground. So, carefully ensure the place is completely dry without leaving any wetness behind.
If the water is not cleared the damaging effect may be worse than water itself. For instance, wetness may weaken the building foundation if left unattended and when similar water damage happens again, restoring your home is not a simple process.
It can cause more damages rendering your home unfit for occupancy. That’s why professional services may help to detect the level of water dryness with gadgets that check moisture. This allows you to avoid making a judgment from what your eyes can see.
Assessing Water Damage and Finding the Help You Need for Water Restoration
Water damage can start as a small issue and appear to be manageable until it becomes more complicated than anticipated. Most water damages happen when homeowners assume the sudden flow of water as an easy task to maneuver.
Some of the complex situations that should caution you are pipe burst, sewer burst, or toilet water blockage. When you see this happening, identify the cause because rushing to prevent the flow.
Unless the water damage is from tap water or a minor issue, other major water problems require you a professional to put the problem to an end.
Also, you need to check how the flood happened because your home could be in a geographical location that cannot handle water disasters. Examining beyond the water damage may save you from future damages that may come to your home again.
Another important thing you should not ignore is a mild situation that may pose no threat. Remember you are not only preventing water from damaging your home but making sure it never happens again. Or create a system that may prevent water from entering your home if coming from without.
When professionals take over the management of your home over water damage, they go the extra mile to prevent other areas you were unaware they could cause similar incident again. They examine your fence, water pipes, gutters, a leaky roof, toilet pipes, and more.
You should also maintain your home often such as cleaning gutters from clogging with dirt, repairing burst pipes or those about to burst. Monthly checkup or yearly can prevent massive damages from destroying your home unaware.
Conclusion
Taking care of water damage at your home or office should be a continuous process. Have experts monitor your home’s condition often to seal any loophole of water reaccessing your property. When you work with professionals, you safeguard your property and family.
