Factors Affecting Water Damage in Wilmington

1/5/2018 (Permalink)

Water damage can come from many sources including a broken pipe. If your property suffers water damage, contact SERVPRO for remeditation services.

SERVPRO Trained Technicians Focus on FOUR Key Factors When Remediating Water Damage

Wilmington homes did not suffer from the extreme weather that struck the East Coast last year. That does not mean we are not at risk from other sources of damage. Most of the flooding or other water issues that affect private homes come from more mundane sources like a failed appliance or an aging pipe that has finally corroded and pulled away from its connection.
 
SERVPRO restoration teams first remove the water from each home as the first step to eliminate Wilmington water damage. It does not determine if we are successful though. To achieve the goal of stopping damage in a home, we also attempt to dry and otherwise restore as much personal and structural property as possible. Temperature, Air Movement, Humidity, and Evaporation are the key factors which determine how much we can keep out of the dumpsters.
 
Temperature – The best range to dry property in a home is between 70 and 90 degrees. That is the normal range of most homes, but our technicians try to keep it at around 80 if possible. Lower than that slows the drying process and a higher temperature, especially over 90, can result in generating more moisture in the surrounding air rather than removing it.

Air Movement – Circulation speeds up the drying process for personal property and building materials such as wood trim and drywall. The air movers we use produce warm, dry air that we can direct across surfaces. They are adjustable so that we can control not just speed and temperature, but even direct them up to walls and across ceilings.

Humidity – Water vapor in the air can slow the drying process to almost a stop. If we find the air content level is over 60 percent, we have to lower it, so our other actions have a useful effect. SERVPRO uses dehumidifiers to draw moisture directly from the air. In most homes, several of these devices working together lower the humidity level to under 40 percent in just 24 hours. They rapidly speed up our last factor: Evaporation.
 
A certain amount of evaporation occurs as water turns to vapor. For it to be useful to us, we remove as much water from the home as possible before setting up any other equipment. In fact, evaporation is not effective if there are more than two inches of water on the floor.
 
Restoring a home and its contents is not a short or simple process. If you have any water damage in your home, you need a professional service. To return your home and property to its original condition, call SERVPRO of New Hanover at (910) 762-8180 today.

For more information regarding the town of Wilmington, click here.