The Destruction Water Does to Your Home or Business as Time Passes | SERVPRO® of Northwest Bergen

5/5/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Northwest Bergen is your 24/7 water restoration expert. Call us right away if you need immediate service.

Certain indicators like a leaky faucet or minor spots of water can seem very unimportant, but you should never underestimate the damage that moisture can cause in your home. An average household leak can waste up to 10,000 gallons of water in a year.

The progression of water damage is faster than you expect, seeping into your walls, floors and any soft surface. If you don’t address the problems immediately, it will be difficult to achieve the best restoration results.

Here we’ve included the important information regarding the timeline of water damage:

<h2the-first-24-hours">In the First 24 Hours

If you live in a house, there is a one in four chance of a flood damaging your home within a 30-year period in a high-risk area. Knowing what to do next is essential.

The first 24 to 48 hours after flooding or water damage are crucial. Certain items will immediately fall victim to water’s disastrous effects.

Any soft material like fabric furnishings and upholstery will soak water in, and untreated wooden structures can swell when exposed to moisture. Even worse, your personal belongings such as photographs, documents, paintings and books are especially at risk to damage and warping beyond repair. During this time, mold can begin to grow, so taking action immediately is essential.

SERVPRO has over 50 years of experience, so combining our expertise with the “restore vs replace” mentality can help save you money while protecting your beloved and irreplaceable keepsakes.

If any item has gone beyond the potential for restoration, we will make sure to communicate this to you immediately. We will have to remove these items quickly to lessen the spread of moisture and enhance our ability to dry all restorable materials.

<h2the-first-week">Within the First Week

After the first 24 hours, water damage will progress further and quickly. Mold can spread like wildfire with excessive moisture. As mold sets in, it can even damage the home’s structure.

Additionally, porous surfaces such as wood surfaces and walls will become increasingly compromised, and metal surfaces will start corroding.

Even treated materials are susceptible to water damage at this point, and not just the items that are submerged in water. As time passes, the standing water evaporates and rises to areas above the visible damage, affecting places you wouldn’t initially think of.

<h2one-week">After One Week

After a week’s worth of exposure to moisture, the damage can extend so far that it becomes irreversible; you must avoid letting moisture and water damage stay untreated for lengthy amounts of time.

As the moisture works its way deeper into the home, the costs and efforts needed to restore the structure will skyrocket, as well as the risks of severe structural damage.

<h2SERVPRO-will-help">How SERVPRO Will Help

SERVPRO’s restoration process begins with the first call, preferably within the first 24 hours. Service work normally starts with a thorough extraction of water. This helps prevent the spread of water in the structure and reduces the overall drying time of your structure and belongings.

It’s very likely that any affected furniture, flooring, carpet and belongings will need a deep cleaning, sanitizing and deodorization. Once we have removed most of the water, we send in our specialists to use our industry-leading technology that can remove the water you can’t see.

After performing the initial steps, your home or business may need construction work to restore your property back to preloss condition. This step could be very minor repairs, or it could be rebuilding major sections of your building.

We prefer to simplify the restoration process for you, handling both the initial damage mitigation and rebuilding any affected areas that require it. SERVPRO will ensure that you are kept in the loop and that you’re back in your home or business in no time.

Regardless of the type of water damage sustained, SERVPRO has the tools and teams to help your home or business recover. Contact us ²⁴⁄₇ when you need a dependable team to help you recover.