Water Damage Clean Up Is Not a D.I.Y. Project

3/12/2019 (Permalink)

We live in the Do-It-Yourself era. Home improvement stores and television shows promote it all the time. Heck, there is an entire television network dedicated to DIY programing. Many projects can be tackled by the weekend DIY pro. It can be a great way to reduce home improvement costs. Many people find pleasure and satisfaction in these projects. Today, we want to talk about a project that we recommend you not try to tackle yourself and that is water damage.

Depending on the source of the water intrusion, you may be dealing with various pathogens that can cause serious illness or death. Sewer backup is an example of a category 3 contamination.  Category 3 should never be handled except by a profession with the proper personal protective equipment to protect themselves and the proper training so other parts of the structure are not cross contaminated. Another example of a category 3 loss is flood waters from storms and swollen rivers and creeks.

Even lesser category losses can be harmful and need to be handled with care. Washing machine and dishwasher discharges are example of category 2 losses but can contain contaminates that can cause a reaction or illness. The time in which water sits is also a reason for concern. Even a category 1 loss such as a sink supply line busting, if let to sit for a few days can rapidly progress to category 2 or 3 as bacterial and microbial growth begins.

Mold is always a potential issue no matter the level of contamination of the water. This is where it gets tricky for the DIY person. People usually get blindsided by mold growth not from the moisture they seen and thought they took care of but by the hidden moisture. The carpet may feel dry to the touch a few days later but the pad may still be holding moisture, or the subfloor. Drywall will “wix” moisture up from a wet floor like a straw. Many times, moisture left on the backside of sheetrock is the beginning of extensive mold growth. Don’t chance it. SERVPRO has the training and technology to detect all moisture and properly dry all affected areas.

In the long run it will save you a lot of money. Money that can be used for all of the great DIY improvement projects you love.