What Contractors Should Not Do When Clean Up In A Flooded Basement In A House in  Westminster  Maryland 

What Contractors Should Not Do When Performing A Flooded Basement In A House in  Westminster  Maryland

                                                    Wrong Steps In Cleaning Up a Flooded Basement                      

Flooded home repair and water damage is the most devastating disaster a property owner could face.  Flooded homes  can happen for many reason. Severe storms, swelled rivers, creeks, streams, and oceans, and burst pipes could all cause thousands of dollars of property damage. Just an inch of water in a basement can cause enough damage to create financial distress for a home or business owner. Flooded basement repair can be costly, especially if a home or business owner is not covered by flood insurance.  Costs can be exponentially greater if the flood damage is neglected or if a sub-standard contractor is hired to make repairs.  Finding a reputable water damage service provider to restore a property to its state before the flood can save property owners considerable sums of money. But many homeowners have no idea how to handle a flooded basement and call anyone they may think can help them . Unless the flooded basement clean up company is  a IICRC.org certified restoration company , they will hire anyone including a home improvement  contractor , a plumber , or a cleaning company .

                                                           Flooded Basement Not To Do Number 1

                                                                              Timely Response

Timely Response When flood damage occurs, the water must be extracted from the affected area as soon as possible to prevent a laundry list of potential hazards.  Flooring such as carpets, padding, hardwood, laminates, and tiles can be saturated and destroyed.  Support beams and studs can become warped, causing severe structural damage.  Drywall and insulation could become over saturated and irreparable.  Electronics, furniture, upholstery, and valuables can become damaged as well.

                                                             Flooded Basement Not To Do Number 2

                                                           Not using The Correct Drying Equipment

Airing and drying out an affected area is also important to prevent mold growth.  Toxic mold can grow as soon as 48 hours after an area has been affected by flood damage.  Moisture is mold number one source for growth, with humidity and the absence of a light source being the other two factors.To avoid toxic mold exposure, standing water must be extracted, the air must be dehumidified, and the area must be properly treated. Only a reputable water damage or mold remediation service professional can be trusted to properly dry a flood damaged basement or area.  Reputable water and mold contractors adhere to guidelines set in place by the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) .  This independent entity governs the restoration industry to ensure the health and safety of contractors and their clients.  The IICRC S500 Guidelines for Water Removal and S520 Guidelines for Mold Removal must be strictly adhered to in order to protect the inhabitants of the property.

Many non IICRC certified contractors who do not follow the IICRC S500 Guidelines , either use the wrong drying equipment or not the correct combination of drying equipment .

Air floor fans used to dry floors are the correct fans to dry a flooded basement . Don’t use fans that are upright standing fans or fans used to cool the room. These will not work to help dry the room .

Unqualified cleaners or contractors will use dehumidifiers that they buy in a home improvement or department store . Most of these are residential grade designed to remove moisture to improve the comfort of the room . They are not equipped to correctly dry wet materials such as carpet or drywall.

                                                             Flooded Basement Not To Do Number 3

                                                      Not completely drying wet carpet and wet walls

In the old days when I started 35 years ago in the flooded basement clean up business , we used very inefficient moisture readers to determine if the material that was wet was now dry . The problem was we didn’t address the wall space between the walls and the outside of the house and in areas we couldn’t access . Now we use what’s called GPP moisture readers that tell us the Grains Per Pound of moisture compared to what the normal GPP is in an unaffected area . The goal is to dry the affected area to the same GPP as the non effected area of the home. The problem not using a IICRC certified company to perform the drying of your flooded basement , is that most of these companies don’t even test to know if they have dried correctly . Incorrect testing or no testing will lead to mold growth .

                                                                                     Final Thoughts

Water damage restoration that is not properly handled can spell disaster for property owners.  Many factors go into a successful, efficient, and safe water damage restoration project. First, the water or moisture issue must be identified and resolved.  Without properly identifying the issue at hand, more water damage will occur even after restoration has been complete.  Especially in cases involving faulty plumbing, sewage damage services, poor insulation, or leakage, water damage will occur over and over if the initial problem is not solved. Secondly, flood damage restoration technicians must be thorough in their efforts to fully dry and dehumidify an affected area.  If an affected area is not fully dry, many more things could go wrong.  Ruination and deterioration of materials such as carpeting, padding, flooding, drywall, insulation, and support beams can cause severe structural damage to a property. Mold can also grow if an area is not fully dry.  While some affected flood areas may seem visibly dry, over-saturation of porous materials that are not properly managed will result in mold growth.

Contact Information For Help With Flooded Basements

For Flooded Home Repair in our service areas, please call us at 410-458-5371 and ask for Jeff .

Here are additional web sites you can look at : 

https://www.epa.gov/natural-disasters/flooding

https://www.cdc.gov/floods/safety/reentering-your-flooded-home-safety.h…

SI Restoration emergency water damage repair and mold remediation  cleanup services are available in the following Maryland areas  : 

Towson          

Pikesville 

Catonsville 

Bel Air 

Baltimore City 

Baltimore County 

Dundalk 

Essex 

Laurel 

Parkton 

Westminster 

Aberdeen 

Hyattsville 

Burtonsville 

Bowie 

Chevy Chase

Elkton 

Gaithersburg 

Rockville 
Germantown 

Hampstead 

Manchester 

Mount Airy 

Sykesville 

Takoma Park 

Upper Marlboro