Dealing With Water Damage To Your Business
Water damage can grind your business operations to a halt. The flooding can be caused by a number of factors. Some of the common ones include plumbing leaks, broken pipes, roof leakage – where the heavy rains pounding will exacerbate the situation, and malfunctioning appliances. The water getting everywhere – carpets, floors and soaking through to the subfloor and damaging surrounding structures – it can be a mess. Just a few inches of water will be enough to wreak havoc on your enterprise. Whether you were there when it happened and had time to evacuate your valuables, or you simply came to work one morning and found your office flooded, it means that you will not be operational for a while. It may take a couple of days, or even over a week depending on the extent of the damage, for normalcy to resume, which will hit the finances and morale of your company.
From business hardships to the emotional toll it takes
The first, obvious victim with be the physical property and your business assets. Here, it will all depend on the amount of flooding that took place. This, in turn, creates a health hazard. Too much water without sufficient drainage space increases the chances of it getting contaminated with bacteria, chemicals, and even sewage. With the contaminated water spreading all over the open space in your business premises, it puts the health of your employees on the line. Add the emotional stress it brings to the list. Frustrations due to the affected business activities, the grief and anger that comes with the disaster, plus the pressure caused by the urgency to have it resolved as soon as possible – it can all put a strain on you.
Fortunately, you can have an insurance policy that covers any losses that would be occurred in the event of such an incident. Speaking of which, one ought to properly consult the insurance agent when buying a policy, in order to be fully aware of the types of damage that are covered, and those that are not. In some instances, the business owner may need to buy secondary insurance policies to cover scenarios like flooding that has been caused by heavy rains. Be keen on the policy limits and any deductibles, to ensure that you have sufficient coverage.
Preventing Carpet Mould After A Case Of Water Damage
One particular item will be problematic to deal with – the carpet. Its nature makes it absorb copious amounts of water, and fungal growth will be a ticking time bomb. With just some moisture and dark space, mould can grow quickly. On a water damaged carpet, this growth will be explosive, quickly spreading through the fibres of the material. For instance, cases of power outages and flooding that come with the spring and summer storms create the humid, dark and warm conditions that the fungi thrive in. The longer that the moisture remains in the carpet, the larger the extent to which the mould will grow.
Your immediate priority here is getting as much water out of the carpet as possible. Wet/dry vacuum cleaners come in handy here, to extract the water from the unit. The fans and AC unit then come in, circulating fresh air in the space. It is recommended that you keep them running all day. Do you have a dehumidifier installed? This will be particularly beneficial in removing the excess moisture from the air space, drying out the room, which then aids in enabling the carpet, floors, and other affected structures to dry faster.
Carpet Cleaning For Water Damaged Units
This is mainly needed for safety purposes. The health risks that came with the standing water – including the toxic chemicals and influx of pathogens in the carpet, need to be got rid of. Generally, there are 3 main categories of floodwater: First, there’s the clean water that comes from the pipes that supply the different rooms in your building. Salvaging these carpets is easier, especially if they have just been wet for 1-2 days. In this case, the carpet and its padding can be restored with proper remediation and sanitation procedures. Otherwise, this escalates to the second category: grey water. This is contaminated water which causes infection if it gets into the body system. These are the likes of toilet overflows, water from broken aquariums, dishwashers, to that caused by operational failures in the sump pump. Here, the carpet padding should be replaced, and it will still be possible to salvage the carpet. The third category is “blackwater”. This is choke-full of contaminants, pathogens and pollutants. Here, you’re dealing with issues like sewage, flooding from weather-related phenomena like storms and hurricanes, and those cases where the flooding has come from surrounding rivers breaking their banks and affecting the building. Here, a full carpet cleaning and restoration will be extremely difficult, especially if the unit has been saturated with this kind of water.
Each case of water damage is unique to the establishment in which it has occurred. For the viability of the operations to be determined, an inspection should be carried out by a professional. The sooner this is done, the higher the chances of salvaging your carpet at a lower cost. You need every advantage you can get, as it is bound to be a difficult time before things are back on track for your business.
It is recommended that you outsource the carpet cleaning task to a professional company, which has the personnel and gear needed to provide a thorough deep clean, and extraction units that remove the bulk of the moisture content from the material, cutting down the drying time. The source of the flood water will dictate the kind of cleaning agents that can be used.
During the carpet cleaning and drying, ensure that you keep foot traffic off it. Furniture as well should be removed, to avoid cases of dye from the work desks and sofas seeping into the carpet. In fact, the excess water that is in the carpet can also be a threat to the furniture.
