The Process Of Water Damage

4/1/2021 (Permalink)

This basement was flooded due to a outside water faucet being left on.

What now? 

You have recently experienced a water damage but are unsure of what needs to happen next. We have listed out a few tips to help you through if you ever experience water damage. 

Find the source. 

Sometimes it may be hard to find the source of the water damage, however it is important do find the source to stop any more water from entering the home. The most common items to cause water damage are hot water heaters, sump pump failures, broken pipes, drain backups, and toilet supply lines. 

Call A Plumber. 

If you are able to confirm the cause of loss call a plumber to get on schedule for them to come fix the issue. If you are unsure of exactly where the water is coming from a plumber will be able to assist in finding where as well. 

Call Your Insurance Company. 

Water damage can be a very costly event. A lot of the time a lot of material has to be removed in order to dry the structure out correctly. We always recommend to our customers to call their insurance company and start a claim. Due to the way some policies may be written some water damages may not be covered depending on what the source is. It is also important to make sure you have any special add on to your policy such as sewage back up, and sump pump failures. 

Call SERVPRO. 

SERVPRO runs a 24/7 365 day service and can arrive at your home within hours to begin the water mitigation process. It is always important to address water damage correctly due to the risk of mold growing it is not dried correctly. Our highly trained team have water monitors to ensure that we remove all the wet materials as well as to ensure that the materials that can be dried are in fact dry at the end of our job. Our technicians will arrive and access the job to see what exactly needs to be done such as extracting water, moving contents, removing wet materials such as carpet pad, drywall, baseboard etc. At the end of the initial day we place air movers and dehumidifiers to dry out the structure. A typical water damage takes roughly three days to dry, however  there are some times that it may take up to five days to dry depending on the material we are attempting to dry. 

We Communicate With Your Insurance Company. 

Throughout your water damage claim our team is in contact with your insurance company and adjuster to make sure everyone involved is on the same page. We document everything with photos, meter readings, and paperwork that all gets sent to you as well as your adjuster. 

Repairs?

After everything is dry our local SERVPRO offers repair services. The benefit of hiring SERVPRO for the repairs is that we handle all the scheduling of subcontractors and follow along with the adjusters repair estimate to ensure that home is put back together to preloss condition. Some claims require multiple services, such as plumber, electricians, drywallers, painters, flooring companies and more. It can helpful and less stressful for a homeowner when SERVPRO of Chambersburg coordinates the repairs due to the multiple steps that have to take place.