What Is the Importance of Mitigation When Responding to a Water Loss Scenario in Gatlinburg?

8/28/2020 (Permalink)

Our friendly team is always available to tackle your water damage emergencies.

SERVPRO Focuses Efforts on Halting the Harm Moisture Can Do, with Appropriate Water Mitigation Preventing Long Term Gatlinburg Structural and Contents Damage

When unexpected water invades your Gatlinburg home's interior, you have only a short time to intercede before permanent damage to your home's structural components and contents begins. Because water performs so many useful functions in our residences, it is surprising just how corrosive water can be to commonly used construction materials and furnishings, household goods, and personal possessions. The critical need during the first minutes to hours of water damage is mitigation. Simply put, the destructive action of water must be stopped.  

What Happens to Materials While Water Damage Goes Unmitigated? 

A predictable timeline of damage is anticipated until efficient and effective water mitigations occur in Gatlinburg. The age and condition of structural materials inside your home can cause the speed with which the damage happens to vary. Here is a general outline of expectations: 

• Water from the leak or spill flows across surfaces, soaking all in its path
• Porous and highly permeable materials absorb the water first, including drywall, insulation, ceiling tiles, carpeting and padding, and upholstered
• Stains and paints on furniture frames can bleed onto the carpet and bare floors
• Floors -- all types become saturated, but popular engineered or laminate flooring deteriorates (delaminates) fast
• Papers, clothes, books, rugs, window coverings 

How Fast Does the Damage Take Hold? 

During the first minutes through the first day: 

• Drywall begins to swell and crumble from the water damage
• Metal surfaces and fasteners or trim begin to tarnish and corrode (rust)
• Wooden furniture begins to swell and finishes crack
• Dyes and inks from textiles and papers liquify, threatening to spread and stain other contents and building materials 
• Odors, often musty and unpleasant, are detectable 

Progressive damage from 48 Hours to One Week: 

• Paint begins to blister or peel on walls, and wallpaper separates
• Wood flooring swells and warps, including subfloors even under seemingly impervious materials like ceramic tile
• Wooden framing supports including doors, windows, floor joists, and studs swell and distort
• The corroded metal loses strength and ability to function as intended
• Mold and mildew begin to grow, multiplying and spreading on visible surfaces and in building cavities
• Furniture warps and can show signs of mold
• As the standing and absorbed water remains unmitigated, substantial biohazard contamination is possible 

Accelerated Damage after One Week: 

The longer it takes to remove water and dry out the space, the more severe the damage becomes. Failure to complete water mitigation promptly causes remediation and restoration costs, and the time taken to intervene will spiral dramatically. Structural safety, expansive mold colony growth, and the intensity of biohazard contaminants pose increasingly severe risks to occupants and the stability and integrity of your home. 

What Are Common Water Mitigation Actions? 

SERVPRO crews attend to water mitigation in Gatlinburg immediately after safety hazards are identified and controlled. Water damage mitigation encompasses a wide range of efforts that prevent excess water from continuing to soak into and damage building materials and contents: 

Pack-out  

If we pack up and move the wet contents inside your home to either a secure and dry area elsewhere on your property or our production facility, we halt water damage in two primary ways: 

• We remove the goods from the source of water, permitting an assessment by skilled contents technicians to complete a restorative arc, returning the items to functionality and appearance. 

• We reduce the humidity load inside your home and prevent the absorbed water from wicking into building materials.  

Water Extraction 

Pumps and powerful water extraction equipment (both truck-mounted and portable) move hundreds to thousands of gallons of water out of your home. Aggressive water extraction is much more useful than structural drying alone. Water removal reduces the time taken to reduce the high moisture contents of materials significantly. The fast-drying helps control any potential mold outbreak. In preparation for drying, we also test for any hidden water trapped in building cavities or recesses. Controlled demolition strategies such as flood cuts help release fluids and open wet areas to the effects of drying equipment. 

Applied Structural Drying 

Once as much liquid water as possible evacuates your home, our team determines drying goals. Using moisture measurements taken during testing and comparing them to levels obtained in your home's unaffected space inform our technicians to arrive at the most appropriate objectives. We reduce the moisture content in your home's targeted rooms by balancing air movement, temperature, and humidity through air movers and dehumidifiers. 

Swift and sure water mitigation techniques, as performed by SERVPRO of Sevier, Jefferson & Cocke Counties, stops the progression of severe damage otherwise likely after a leak, appliance malfunction, or other water loss. A call to (865) 429-8885 sets up a substantive response at a challenging time.