On the Scene of a Water Loss

5/29/2018 (Permalink)

Water loss scene

A very common call in our line of work is for water in basements.

And a very common way water gets into basements is when sump pumps stop working for various reasons. Broken sump pumps allow ground water to rise and seep into the cracks in the concrete floors. So, often, you’ll notice water does not come up evenly, but tends to gather in certain areas where the foundation is lower.

We recently had a call for a broken sump pump and water loss in a finished basement in a home in the Green Bay area.

The first step we take when this happens is to go to the home and assess the damage. We inspect the situation, see what’s gotten wet and speak with the client about what we’ll do to remediate the water loss and what they can expect when it comes to the process, insurance and the work in their home.

After that our team gets to work.

In this recent situation, the finished basement had several rooms that were carpeted, as well as storage rooms that were not.

The first move the technicians made was to get any furniture and personal belongings moved off the wet floor and carpeting. They blocked up anything that got wet from being in contact with the wet floor to allow it to dry.

The next step was to do what’s called ‘extraction’ on the carpeting. That means using a machine to, in a sense, vacuum water up out of the carpet. (It is a labor-intense process, but very important to kick start the drying!)

After that, the technicians pull up the edges of the carpeting and then rolled the carpeting back to expose the padding underneath. They then cut out and removed all of the wet padding, throwing it away. This is because according to IICRC standards, sump water is contaminated water and is considered category 2 water.  The standards say the carpeting can be cleaned and disinfected but the pad cannot be and needs to be replaced.

Once the padding was gone, the technicians put an antimicrobial spray on the floor to kill any germs or bacteria that may have been left behind by the water. Afterward, they rolled the carpet back down across the floor, extracted the carpet once more to make sure as much water is removed and then put antimicrobial spray on top of the carpet.

The technicians repeated this process several times over in several carpeted rooms in the basement.

They also removed the baseboards from walls that were affected by the water.  ¾” holes are then drilled in the drywall every few inches where the baseboard was. That ensures that walls will dry fully and mold has nowhere to hide and grow in the future.  These holes will later be covered fully when the baseboards are reapplied to the drywalls.

Finally, the techs set up dehumidifiers and fans to really get the drying process going. They did a process called “floating the carpet,” where they put a few fans blowing underneath the carpeting, making it float and flutter slightly. This helps the drying process along more quickly.

The drying process can take several days to complete and our team will go back to monitor the process. When they monitor, the techs use equipment to measure the temperature and humidity in the room to see how things are coming along.  They also directly measure the moisture content in affected wood and drywall to determine when the materials have reached dry standards.

Once the drying process is complete in any water loss case, the SERVPRO team will put the property and belongings back together. We are also able to provide reconstruction services for anything that needed to be torn out during the remediation, like the pad in this recent case as well as having the carpet re-stretched in place and the baseboards reapplied to the walls.

SERVPRO of West Brown County is just a phone call away (920-434-8224) if you need our help following a water loss at your home or business. Give us a call anytime!