How Do You Avoid Secondary Damages When Dealing with Water Damage in Your Knoxville Home

4/20/2020 (Permalink)

We can eliminate the moisture to make it “Like it never even happened.”

Guidelines to Handling Water Damage in Your Knoxville Residence

Dealing with a mishap like water damage in your Knoxville home is frustrating, overwhelming, and time-consuming. Water ruins the materials used to construct houses and personal possessions quickly, and if not mitigated, the destruction can be permanent. SERVPRO provides emergency water damage restoration services to prevent secondary damage to the walls, floors, furnishings, and ceilings, among other parts of a home.

Many things can cause water damage in your Knoxville property, including burst pipes, overflowing bathtubs or sinks, and damaged appliances. When water invades your property, acting fast can prevent the situation from getting out of control.

To help control the extent of the destruction that water can cause, you can use the following DIY water removal tips:

•     Move furniture from the affected area to a well-ventilated room.
•     Remove as much of the standing water as possible using a wet/dry vacuum.
•     If the water has soaked your carpets, steam clean them. You can rent a steam cleaner at a home improvement store if you do not own one. If the carpets are severely damaged or have a putrid scent, contact professionals to clean, dry, and sanitize them.
•     Bacteria can thrive after a water intrusion incident. Therefore, sanitize all the affected areas using disinfectant cleaners.
•     Ventilate your home by running fans, opening windows, and using a dehumidifier non-stop for 3 to 4 days to prevent mold growth.
•     After your home dries out, apply a product that inhibits mold infestation to all affected areas. You can find such products in home supply stores, grocery stores, and some hardware stores.
•     Confirm that furniture is dry and free from mold before you move it to its original location.
•     Use desiccants like calcium oxide and silica gel to remove moisture that could remain in furniture fabric.

You should not underestimate the importance of drying your home entirely after a water loss problem. If any moisture remains, it can lead to mold growth, which can cause health effects. It is advisable to seek the help of SERVPRO franchise professionals, especially if water has pooled on carpets, walls, and furniture.

Our crew can use thermal imaging equipment to determine the water’s path throughout your home. We can identify the areas affected by moisture. Our technicians have advanced drying equipment that can remove surface water, free water, and bound water. Surface water is liquid moisture on a material’s surface, while free water is the liquid moisture a material has absorbed. Bound water is the moisture that wood materials have absorbed and has become chemically bound with the wood. Bound water takes longer to evaporate when compared to free and surface water. We can heat damp materials to increase the rate of evaporating bound water.

To prevent further water damage in your home, you need to ensure that moisture deep within floors, walls, and contents is thoroughly removed. Call SERVPRO of Rocky Hill / Sequoyah Hills / South Knoxville at (865) 862-8907 for help. We can eliminate the moisture to make it “Like it never even happened.”

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