Water Damage Restoration Commercial | Business

Water Damage Restoration Commercial | Business

There are few disasters that can happen to your business that are more crippling and can bring your business to its knees than water damage from storms, flooding or leaking pipes. It can sneak up on you or hit you suddenly when you least expect it. No matter how it happens, it is always a difficult job to clean up after and the water damage can be subtle and long lasting.

It is very important to understand the extent of the water damage to your building so that clean up and repair process can be thorough and effective. While some water damages are immediately apparent - such as water damage to porous materials like wood, carpeting, drywall and such - latent damages like water damage mold may take months or even years to develop although, depending on certain conditions, mold from water damage can develop in as little as 24 hours. Thorough drying of all areas affected by water damage, as well as removing and replacing any porous materials as carpeting and padding, drywall, and ceiling tiles, will minimize and possibly prevent a mold or mildew problem. Antiseptic solutions may need to be applied, particularly if the source of the water damage was a backed up sewer or septic system.

Immediate Response to water damage in your business or building from storms, leaks and or floods is critical. It is absolutely necessary with in the first 24-48 HOURS all of the critical steps must be taken if you want to maximize the chance of avoiding an expensive and costly cleanup project, to avoid the possibility of mold growing and to get your business fully functional again as soon as possible.

• Stop the water entry point if you can find it. Protect furnishings and possessions which have not gotten wet by moving them to dry areas of the building.
• Remove any standing water - Use special pumping equipment to extract water.
• Remove any wet carpets, wet furniture, contents, and boxes of wet stored items. Store items to be salvaged from the flooded area outside or in a dry location or separate building, not in upper floors of the flooded building. Otherwise you may accidentally carry mold or other contaminants to other building areas.
• Remove floor trim and lower portions of walls (such as drywall or paneling) (at least 12") and any wall insulation, in rooms where the floors were wet or flooded. Porous materials like drywall or plaster which have been wet cannot effectively be cleaned and should be discarded.

How Much Drywall Needs To Be Cut Off After Flooding:

If a floor has water, even if the water damage did not rise up the walls, we remove no less than the bottom 12" of drywall as well as any floorboard trim. Water on a floor surface enters and wets the wall cavity and often causes a significant but hidden problem mold reservoir in the wall cavity. If mold is visible on a drywall covered wall, we remove drywall to no less than 12" above any visible mold, including inspecting the wall cavity interior for visible mold.

• Remove upper portions of wall coverings (drywall or paneling) higher than 12" if these areas are wet, or if water entered the wall cavity from above.
• Remove ceilings that have been flooded from above, regardless of material such as plaster, drywall, or ceiling tiles. Suspended ceiling tiles which have been wet should also be discarded, and the remaining suspended ceiling tiles removed to permit inspection and drying as well as to inspect for evidence of water overhead.
• If mold is already visible or suspected, use containment to avoid air movement from the damaged (moldy) area to other building areas. Containment generally means negative air and poly plastic barriers are set up and other steps are taken to isolate a moldy or dusty work area from the rest of a building.
• Surface Cleaning: after rough demolition to remove wet and porous or visibly moldy materials and other items listed above, all remaining loose dirt and debris is removed, and the remaining exposed surfaces such as wall studs and framing, masonry walls, floors, plywood sheathing, is cleaned to remove all loose and surface debris.
• Surface Disinfection: after area flooding it is safe practice to assume that septic or sewage contaminants accompanied the floodwaters, so disinfection of all building surfaces is part of the cleaning process.
• Use dehumidifiers, fans, heaters, to dry the exposed building areas and surfaces.
• Inspect upper building areas and dry or ventilate them. Depending on weather conditions ventilation may mean simply opening windows or use of fans to dry an area. A building attic over a flooded basement is likely to have an excessive moisture level so that area needs inspection and may need venting too.

When your business or commercial property experiences water damage, you will need to get things cleaned up quickly and thoroughly - to get back to business as soon as possible while avoiding the possibility of additional problems in your building or home in the future. Our expertly trained professionals are able to handle any type of restoration project, including large-scale floods, multi-story buildings, ware houses, and all other water damage clean up, restoration and reconstruction projects. We provide 24-hour emergency services 7 days a week, 365 days a year for all types of emergency situations, with the capabilities to get the job done quickly and efficiently to minimize both downtime and cost to your business.

Damage to your business caused by water backup, plumbing leaks, broken or frozen pipes, storms, or flooding can be devastating to deal with and overwhelming.  Water damage can cripple your business and bring it to a halt.  In order to avoid having problems in the future from hidden damage, or the health hazards, such as mold, from an incomplete cleanup you need to be sure the job is done correctly by a trained professional as soon as possible. Our expertly trained water damage professionals can handle any type of restoration and clean up project.  No water damage job is too big for us.  We have the experience to get the job done properly to minimize the inconvenience to you and your family. See our History page for some of the business clients who rely on our services.

Bottom line: You must address any water damage problems immediately, for your business’s sake and for your health and the health of everyone who works for you.

Call AAA Emergency Services immediately @ 513-769-0555 to get the cleanup process started and get your business running smoothly again as quickly as possible.