Even with the best planning, the best home maintenance, and even the proper precautions, flooding and water damage can happen to your home at any time. 

Nothing is more stressful than feeling out of control due to severe damages to your house.

Not acting quickly in a water damage situation could lead to dangerous mold and bacteria in your home, and compromise the structure of your house. 

We are going to walk you through just what happens during the restoration process, so you know what to expect.

Let’s get started.

The Inspection

The initial process is with an inspection of the damage in your home. A professional will assess the damage, and determine what the class it belongs in, as well as the category. 

Here are the different classes and categories and what you should know about each.

Class 1– This involves very little water damage in a room.

Class 2– This involves damage to an entire space, including damage to carpet and possible damage to the walls.

Class 3-This is the worst class of damage. Class 3 indicates that there might be damage to the ceiling as well. 

Class 4– While this is higher than 3 numerically, it is not worse, just different. This class requires special drying to things like wood floors and stone.

Category 1– This involves clean water from something like a broken pipe.

Category 2– This involves water that isn’t necessarily dangerous, but needs to be cleaned up like greywater. 

Category 3– This involves water that could cause serious illness or disease. This is the most dangerous category. 

Once your water restoration inspection is complete, the team will move forward depending on the severity of your situation. 

Removal of Standing Water

This needs to be done quickly in order to ensure that no further damage occurs. 

Depending on the level of damage, the timing on this process can vary. Generally, large pumps and water vacuums are used to rid the area of standing water.

Drying

This step is very important in order to prevent harmful mold and bacteria growth. The contractors will bring in dehumidification tools and industrial air blowers to ensure that all moisture is drying quickly. 

The contractors should have the area contained to focus drying in the areas that need it the most. After the drying is complete, sanitation is done to inhibit the growth of mold.

In some cases, drying may take a few weeks to complete. 

Further Repairs

After the initial water removal, drying, and sanitation, further restoration is likely needed. 

Damage to drywall and floors must be repaired to ensure that there is no mold growth and also for safety. Depending on the class of your water damage your home may have been structurally compromised. 

Preventing Water Damage 

Sometimes there is nothing that you can do, water damage just happens. The important thing to understand is that acting quickly in contacting a professional will help you to prevent further damage.

For more help understanding damage treatment options contact us by clicking here.