Water Damage and Your Home | SERVPRO® of New Center/Highland Park

If there’s one thing you don’t want to do in your New Center/Highland Park home, it’s ignore what’s right in front of you. One day, you may notice there’s a small water spot on one of the walls in your home and think nothing of it.

After all, how much damage can an itty bitty water spot do? The problem is you never know what’s going on behind the scenes.

An average household leak can waste up to 10,000 gallons of water in a year, and you never know how much may end up in your home.

Water damage progresses rapidly, seeping into floors, walls and soft surfaces. It’s crucial to address the issue right away to produce the best results.

Here’s how you can expect water damage to progress after one day, one week and longer:

In the First 24 Hours

When you reside 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.

Take advantage of the first 24 to 48 hours after initial flooding or water damage because the effect will get much worse over time.

Soft furnishings and upholstery will soak through, and wooden structures can swell from the moisture. Personal belongings like books and photographs are especially vulnerable to warping beyond repair. In addition, mold can begin to develop within this timeframe.

Our people operate under the mindset of “restore vs. replace.” This will help you save money while preserving precious keepsakes that can’t be replaced.

We will go ahead and remove anything that is salvageable and begin the drying process. If there is anything that we cannot save, our experts will communicate this to you as soon as possible.

Within the First Week

As time goes on, the damage will increase exponentially. Mold can spread like wildfire with excessive moisture.

As mold sets in, it can even damage the home’s structure. The water will also break down any porous surfaces and corrode metal.

After One Week

One week is far too long to let water sit in your home. By this point, you may have crossed the point of no return.

The costs and efforts to restore the structure will have increased significantly, and the risks associated with structural damage might be too great to overcome.

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 drying time.

Mostly likely, floors, furniture and other belongings will require cleaning, sanitizing and deodorization. After the bulk of the water has been removed, our specialists will use industry-leading drying equipment to remove the water you can’t see.

Once we have completed all of these steps, we will move on to the construction process, which could include a couple of minor repairs or undertaking a full-on reconstruction job.

In order to make this process easier, allow our team to handle the initial damage mitigation and rebuild the ruined areas. That way, we can keep you up to date on every step and get you back in your home as soon as possible.

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.