Can Anyone Help When a Midnight Plumbing Emergency Spreads Water Everywhere in my Waterbury Home?

8/14/2020 (Permalink)

Call day or night at (203) 757-5050 to schedule a swift assessment and implement a targeted restoration plan.

Our Professionals Know an Urgent Need for Water Damage Repair in Your Waterbury Residence Has No Respect for "Working Hours" -- Why SERVPRO Responds 24/7 Every Day of the Year

It is a nightmare from which all too many homeowners desire to awaken -- water damage that occurs overnight or when you are away from your Waterbury house for work, school, or play. A pipe can break, a water heater can rupture, or a dishwasher can overflow, among dozens of other unpleasant and destructive surprises. You are not prepared for the quantity of the water or the intensity of the potential damage caused by these events. You need around-the-clock water loss damage partner to respond to potentially destructive circumstances.

What Should I Do While Waiting for Professional Help?

When you need water damage repair in your Waterbury residence, it can be tempting to wade in to manage at least part of the mess yourself. Often acting on that urge causes no additional trouble, but if you are unsure of the safety hazard potential in your home's water damage affected spaces, hold off. Even our trained crews wait until the project manager or crew chief performs a safety assessment. Why? Because some of the possible dangers present in an unsecured scene can be injurious or even deadly:

    •    Slip, trip, and fall hazards (especially troublesome in the dead of the night if the electricity is off)
    •    Electrical hazards ranging from tangled cords that can trip to live power conducted freely by the water, causing fire, shock, or electrocution
    •    Chance of structural collapse because of damaged supports or
    •    Overhead hazards when water pools over ceilings
    •    Adjacent hazards when water pool in building cavities  
    •    Contamination issues if the water upended chemical containers, mixed with dirt or grease, or if the waste system backs up
    •    Confined area concerns, where water pools in recesses that are dark, have one-way entrances that double as the only exit out or feature low hanging pipes or ceilings or tight walls

How Do Water Damage Repair Professionals Control the Safety Hazards Noted?

If the presence of one or more safety hazards stops water damage repair from proceeding, the situation would be untenable. Instead, SERVPRO takes steps to control, eliminate, or work around the risks. Some responses are straightforward -- power off the electricity or wear personal protective equipment (PPE) around contaminants. Some of the other issues require a specific yet effective control:

    •    Tape off slippery areas and post warning signage
    •    Use the buddy system or equipment extensions or adaptations  in confined spaces
    •    Employ careful, focused controlled demolition methods to release water from overhead or other building cavities (weep holes, flood cuts)

Safety Concerns? Check! What Is Next?

General Mitigation Services
    •    Pumps and truck-mounted extractors remove the bulk of the liquid water -- as they are gas or generator-powered, the use of this equipment avoids the need for on-site electricity
    •    Portable extractors can go wherever a technician is able, often worn as a backpack -- a good fit for confined spaces

Special Water Removal Circumstances
Injectidry-Type Systems
    •    When detection devices find water trapped in floor layers, we often use floor mats attached to the floor and connected to a negative pressure source, like an extractor, to suction out the water
    •    When water lurks behind walls despite drainage holes, we thread hoses through and try negative pressure to pull the water out (reversing the pressure during drying helps dry air infiltrate the wet cavity)

Structural Drying
Specified technicians (we try to limit the testing duties to one individual for consistency) repeatedly measure moisture levels. That data is used to determine and monitor progress toward drying goals. Drying equipment includes:

    •    Air movers to sweep humid air off wet surfaces
    •    Heaters if needed to modulate temperature
    •    Dehumidifiers to capture and hold moisture for disposal

Our consistent mission is to save residents of our community from the stress and disruption of property loss, why SERVPRO of Waterbury responds to water damage repair requests as soon as practicable. Call day or night at (203) 757-5050 to schedule a swift assessment and implement a targeted restoration plan.