When to Worry if Your North Syracuse Home Has Water Damage

6/21/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO is prepared with equipment and experienced technicians to restore your North Syracuse home or business after water damage.

SERVPRO Handles All North Syracuse Water Restorations

Even though you use water for everyday purposes around the house, it can become a problem if materials are unnecessarily exposed. With timely mopping or other water extraction techniques, people can easily handle many water intrusions in North Syracuse homes. However, the severity of water damage can be high, necessitating assistance from a professional.

Regardless of how the intrusion happens in your North Syracuse home, water damage is gradual. Extracting water immediately or shortly after discovering the leak minimizes the severity of damages. The only issues that may require addressing are bubbling or peeling paint and wallpaper. However, if extraction and drying are delayed, the problems worsen, and the walls or ceiling may feel spongy to the touch as moisture precipitates the disintegration of drywall. When such signs start manifesting, you should be concerned, and involving a professional like SERVPRO is advisable.

Most people worry when they notice the advanced signs of water damage. However, there are other reasons to worry, including unnoticed moisture migration. Water can penetrate beneath floorboards or hard surfaces like tiles where it might go unnoticed for a longer time leading to severe rotting or warping. Fixing such damages would require demolition and costly reconstruction of the floor area. SERVPRO crews can help deal with the moisture using advanced equipment such as drying mats eliminating the need for reconstruction.

Other time-related damages: 

• Ceiling collapse 
• Damage to utilities like electric cables
• Mold development
• Disintegration or delamination of materials

A professional has a higher chance of identifying hidden water damage by relying on technology rather than physical observations alone. Our SERVPRO technicians easily identify moisture pockets hidden behind walls, cabinets, or floor materials using a thermal camera. The tool relies on infrared rays, which identify temperature differences in materials, thus revealing colder areas that appear bluish.

Thinking Beyond Restoration Costs

In most cases, the main inconvenience triggered by severe moisture inside a building is cost-related. Costs can be direct such as when you buy cleaning products and replacement materials. It might also be indirect, such as when the incident forces you to leave your home for some days. However, the cost is not the only problem leaks can create. 

Hazardous conditions are another critical problem to pay attention to after water leaks. In areas of the home, such as the ceiling, water accumulation is not factored in during construction. Therefore the ceiling panels can collapse from the weight if a leak originates in the ceiling cavity. In a multistoried house, particleboard floors can lose their structural integrity from extended water exposure, thus limiting their ability to hold the weight of people or machines. These changes increase the chances of injury when a person or piece of equipment falls through or if heavy materials hit people below. Our SERVPRO technicians use personal protective equipment (PPE) to limit the chances of injury.

Useful PPE: 

• Hard hats to protect against falling objects
• Heavy-duty gloves and boots to protect against sharp objects
• Safety signs to keep people from worksites

Work crews can explore any property section with the appropriate protective gear and safely identify problems at the earliest stages. They can also work faster, thus improving the chances of restoring your home to its preloss state.

SERVPRO of North Onondaga County takes enough precautions when handling water damage to safeguard your interests. Call us at (315) 457-3432 for assistance. We’re Faster To Any Size Disaster.