Wilmington Water Damage Impacts Homes in Several Ways

4/3/2023 (Permalink)

SERVPRO has the training and equipment for any size of water damage. Call for fast and immediate action for your Wilmington home.

SERVPRO Helps Resolve Wilmington Water Damage

Because we serve the most populated metropolis in all of Delaware, more than 70,000 in the city alone depend on a fast response from our professionals when water emergencies occur. Hundreds of possible causes exist for these damage events, from leaking pipes to freezing during harsh winter conditions. Responding professionals reach New Castle County properties and begin working to mitigate loss and damage to critical areas in the house like:

• Ceilings
• Flooring
• Structural Cavities
• Crawlspaces
• Basements
• Attics

Wilmington water damage requires immediate attention and mitigative strategies. You can rely on SERVPRO to be a fast-responding team of professionals ready to mobilize when disasters strike. We are more than a slogan suggesting we are faster to disasters; we show this with our 24/7 availability and pre-stocked service vehicles in the Green Fleet. 

Emergency Services and Repairs

SERVPRO responders appreciate the need for early action when water emergencies like leaks and pipe bursts occur in a household. Hundreds of individual contents and building materials can be exposed from a single event, so our responders arrive with the mindset to slow the moisture migration, eliminate safety concerns, and prevent further loss to the household. This gets achieved with controlled demolition, content relocation, cleaning, and pre-job scoping for hazards and safety concerns.

The Value of Extraction

After more significant water damage events, the most relevant and helpful mitigative strategy is removing standing water. Water removal services combine several extraction devices to eliminate standing water throughout the property and prevent greater absorption levels into exposed porous building materials like carpets, wood flooring, and drywall. Some of the extraction devices include:

• Pumps
• Vacuums
• Drying Mats
• Weighted Extractors

Addressing the Three Phases of Water Damage

Understanding the behavior of water as it moves through a structure is essential to overcome the ultimate effect this hazard can cause. Absorption into flooring and wall systems must get addressed promptly by our IICRC-certified team, as prolonged exposure can undoubtedly change the composition of the affected material and force reconstruction. Moisture impacts construction elements in three possible ways:

• Surface Water

This is the earliest exposure stage before even the water absorbs into the flooring and wall materials. Surface water can be removed and managed using extraction devices and followed up with actions like mopping and toweling the area.

• Free Water

While absorbed into the material, our professionals can still remove free water. With flooring like hardwood, drying mats use the capillary suction process and heat to draw moisture to the surface for removal without damaging the structural integrity.

• Bound Water

At this stage, water is no longer removable. SERVPRO must remove affected planks of the flooring or other impacted materials. The water molecules have combined with the cellulose of the wood or the molecular structure of the building material to change its composition and make it unsalvageable.

Rebuilding After Water Damage

It is often vital to implement specific repairs and reconstruction after damage events. It is crucial to be confident that water infiltration has been resolved, including any breaks or leaks from the plumbing system. Our contractor license allows us to complete necessary build-back services to target problematic areas of the house that cause lasting harm.

Water damage in Wilmington homes comes with an urgent timeline to restore and recover the affected areas of your household. Understanding this need, our SERVPRO of Hockessin / Elsmere team can reach damaged properties quickly with mitigative and restorative equipment and approaches. Give us a call today at (302) 992-0104.