All the Water Seems to Have Drained Away -- Do I Need Water Extraction in My Chicago Home?

8/5/2020 (Permalink)

If you don’t act quickly, water damage in your home can escalate. Contact our experienced SERVPRO team right away.

There Is More to Water Extraction in Chicago Than Meets the Eye, and SERVPRO Has the Training and Tools to Spot the Damaging Trail Water Followed Through Your Home.

This list of events that can lead to a significant water loss is long, and the manifestations of the damage are diverse. Whether because of a plumbing leak, or appliance failure, water spreads and flows unless it is impeded or contained. It seems to disappear while instead finding cracks, crevices, building cavities, and highly permeable and absorbent structural components and contents in which to hide. 

Why Is Locating Hidden Water Inside Your Home Important? 

Because we use it for so many things -- drinking, washing, bathing, sprinkling, cleaning, and more --it is difficult to imagine just how destructive it is to building materials and contents in your Chicago home. Water extraction is critical when significant amounts escape from containment and threaten to damage your house or a broad range of furnishings, household goods, and personal possessions. The timeframe for removal is very short, with substantial harm to standard structural components like drywall, ceiling tiles, insulation, and flooring occurring within minutes to hours. Mold growth traceable to water damage also is a constant worry, taking hold if spores absorb moisture, including the moisture soaked into building materials or hidden spaces. 

What Are the Risks of Trapped and Hidden Water in a Residence?

One of the first things the SERVPRO crew completes when we arrive to help with a water emergency is a safety assessment. Even customers who call for fire damage or mold remediation consultation find we do a water safety assessment immediately.  The water incursions related to many disasters can be a major cause of exposure to risks that could result in substantial injury or even death if not identified and controlled correctly. Excess trapped water can be responsible for:

• Electric shock or electrocution -- wiring threads through the same building cavities in which the water hides 
• Collapse or weakening of structures -- particularly above ceilings and between walls where unseen water collects, the weight and pressure eventually causing materials to break through or crack, crushing contents and potentially injuring anyone beneath or next to a breach
• Deterioration of previously contained hazardous materials such as asbestos heat shields, insulation, or pipe wraps, or lead-painted surfaces
• A build-up of contaminants such as infectious waste or molds if the leaked water was tainted before it percolated into subfloors or wicked into drywall

What Is the Answer to Locating and Eliminating the Trapped Water?

Among the tools in our service vehicles are moisture detectors, moisture meters, and infrared cameras. When we listen to your description of the leak or malfunction, we orient to the general water damaged space and then use the devices to plot out the dimensions of the water-damaged areas. Infrared imaging requires a trained technician’s evaluation of temperature fluctuations to show cache’s of water behind barriers. Moisture detectors use prongs or sensors to sketch the outline of absorbed fluids. Measuring the level of water absorption in various materials verifies the path of the water. It provides data for drying goal setting and implementation after we extract as much water as possible. 

When Professionals Find the Water How Do They Extract It?

Research indicates that thorough water extraction is much more effective than transitioning to drying tactics alone -- 1200 times more effective. Because of the risks to structural integrity and concerns about mold, we take an active approach to removing the water and moisture once detected. Significant barriers make the extraction challenging, but our crews make good use of limited, controlled demolition to access the water and open up wet cavities for successful structural drying. Specific tactics include:

• Prying off baseboards and beadboard paneling to drill or cut holes permitting drainage of water and allow connection of hoses to enhance extraction with suction
• Drilling holes in mortar joints of cinder block, brick, or concrete construction to release water
• Punching weep holes in bulging areas of walls or ceilings to control the release of trapped water
• Sawing flood cuts in drywall between studs several inches above the water collected in wall cavities

The demo techniques used respond well to repair and rebuilding efforts. We can help arrange for that final step.

Water extraction is a core service offered by SERVPRO of Marquette Park / West Lawn / Ford City, halting visible and hidden water damage while preparing surfaces and structures for restoration. Call (773) 337-3993 to schedule an assessment even if the water “disappeared” after a leak, spill, or flood.