Can I Prevent Water Damage After Water Spills in my Boynton Beach Office?

6/5/2020 (Permalink)

You can trust that SERVPRO technicians will handle your water damage crisis. Call us today.

Faster Response From SERVPRO Can Help You Stop Most Problems That Develop After Water Loss Incidents

Most people consider water damage as something you can only prevent if a water spill is yet to happen. Once the water spills, it is a question of repairing the resultant damages. However, since water damage is instantaneous in some materials, and in others, it takes time, the correct response can help prevent some forms of damage. SERVPRO is ready to offer assistance 24 hours a day in case any Boynton Beach property is affected.

How do I tell whether it is possible to prevent damages?

Before you think of prevention, you should have an idea, what kind of water damage is likely to affect your Boynton Beach office after a water spill incident. A wide range of intricacies can emerge depending on the materials you have in the affected areas, the source of water, and the amount of water spilled, among other factors.

There are different classifications of damages that can happen. One useful classification when you are thinking of prevention is a time-based one, which identifies damages that happen within minutes, hours, days, and weeks. Most of the damages that happen within minutes are hard to prevent and may include:

• Absorption of water by porous materials 
• Matting or smudging of inks in paper products
• Transfer of soils as the water flows

The advantage, though, is that most of the instantaneous water damages are easier to address. For instance, cleaning can restore most of the soiled areas, while water extraction and drying help restore wet materials. A quick response can help prevent the damages that happen after hours of exposure to the spilled water. Typical examples include:

• Swelling of materials such as wood or material finishes
• Tarnishing of uncoated metals
• Development of odors
• Deterioration of drywall and other composites

What can help prevent such damages?

Since moisture migration is the main driving force behind most damages, stopping it can help prevent most of the damages. Our SERVPRO technicians take several steps to limit moisture migration, starting with expediting water extraction of any standing water within the office premises.  We handle extraction on regular surfaces such as tiles or porous ones such as carpets, which tend to hold water because we have sophisticated water removal equipment, including ride-on extractors and weighted water claws. 

Another solution is to move items from the affected area. Our technicians can disassemble fixed cabinets and remove carpets for offsite cleaning and drying. We also move other items, such as portable cabinets and furniture. Move outs help protect the materials from the water pooling on surfaces and the higher humidity levels within the facility.

Can I still prevent damages a day later?

Sometimes the loss might happen when no one is around to take remedial action. For instance, a pipe can burst in the middle of the night or during weekends or public holidays when everyone is away from the office. The discovery of the leak might happen several hours or even days later. At such a point, many damages are already underway, but the right response can still prevent further deterioration. Typical damages that take days to manifest, include:

• Irreversible swelling, splitting or warping of wood
• Mold development and deterioration of indoor air quality
• Rusting and other malfunctions in electronic components
• Clean water loss turns to greywater loss

Our SERVPRO technicians can help you prevent some of the extreme damages. For instance, when we arrive at the loss site a day later, we can utilize advanced drying procedures such as using drying mats to remove water below wooden floorboards preventing buckling or other permanent damages. We also use drying chambers to regulate the drying pace preventing the wood from splitting.

Setting up dehumidifiers in the facility, and turning on the heat helps regulate humidity levels and temperature, which can protect internal components in electronics from further damage before professional checks. Damage mostly happens when internal components rust. Reducing humidity levels minimizes the moisture that reaches internal components, while heating keeps them from cooling to the dew point, thus keeping rust at bay.

Restoring damages is also essential if it takes several hours or days to discover a water spill. Our technicians help demolish walls to remove deteriorated wall panels, insulation, or ceiling tiles. We clean surfaces and apply antimicrobial agents to stop any mold development. Deodorization, either by mixing deodorizing agents with the cleaning solutions or by spraying it on surfaces after cleaning, helps address bad odor.

With assistance from SERVPRO of Boynton Beach, several options are available to help you minimize water damage. Call us at (561) 413-9754 to help. We are available 24/7.