In Iowa, April Showers Bring May Flooding
With the melting snow and excessive rain showers that come to Iowa in the spring, flooding is definitely a part of Iowa life. While we all know the rain is great for grass, gardens and farmland, it can cause significant water damage to our homes, furniture, carpets and more.
No matter where you live in Iowa, there is a ServiceMaster by Rice nearby; we aren’t just in Des Moines. We serve customers in areas like Atlantic, Carroll, Storm Lake, Spencer, Cedar Rapids, and Fairmont, Minnesota too. Carpet cleaning, disaster restoration and water damage repairs are our specialty, all of which you’ll need to deal with springtime flooding.
Water Damage is Deceptive
The tricky part of water damage is that even though it looks like you’ve taken care of the problem, it usually has only been partially taken care of. When a water loss happens, water penetrates into every cavity possible. Some of these cavities and pockets of saturation you probably didn’t even know existed. Water damage experts like ServiceMaster by Rice know where to look for these pockets of water saturation in your home and has the technology to detect them.
At the very least, water damage from flooding will just cause odor in your home. While this is a nuisance, it is not threatening to the structure or well-being of your home and family. More serious damage can include structural deterioration, shrinking, splitting and crumbling due to water that has infiltrated the structure of your home. Flooding can also lead to mold and bacterial infiltration because of unclean water, causing damage that lasts long after the water has been dried out.
ServiceMaster by Rice Can Take Care of Your Water Damage
When you need a water damage restoration professional like ServiceMaster by Rice, there are certain things you can expect from their intense cleaning, testing and restoring process after a serious water loss.
Initial Water Extraction
A major part of water damage repair in any size restoration is the initial water extraction process. ServiceMaster by Rice uses advanced water extraction materials, including high powered vacuum technology, to get the water out of the home or business. We also perform an initial assessment of the water to know how to properly dispose of it if there are chemicals or waste in the flood water.
Throwing Water Damaged Items Away
A good rule of thumb to follow after a water loss has affected your home is to think of a sponge; any item that absorbs water or acts as a sponge for the water is susceptible to water damage. This means mattresses, carpets, rugs, blankets, molding, pillows, etc. are all more likely to get mold growth because of the water damage and in most cases need to be thrown away. Clothing and furniture can usually be saved and washed more easily. ServiceMaster by Rice will assess the water damage in your home and one of our major goals is to dry out these pockets of saturation to avoid further damage or problems. In the case of a sewage back up in your home, anything that has been saturated by sewage contaminated water needs to be thrown away immediately to avoid infection or further bacterial problems.
Airing Out Your Home or Business
One of the major steps in the water damage repair process is airing out these pockets of saturation and using high tech drying techniques to make sure excess moisture is extracted from the structure of your home or business. ServiceMaster by Rice will usually remove base molding and the wall that has been damaged up to 15 inches above the water line. Our team then brings in vacuum equipment to suck out excess moisture and water from air ducts, drywall and wall cavities. This helps prevent mold, odor and moisture from building up in walls.
Professional Carpet & Home Cleaning
Whether your home was flooded due to weather, flooding or sewage back up, the cleaning process is still intense. ServiceMaster by Rice will approach the cleaning process in both homes and businesses with an aggressive attitude. Sewage back up brings in fungi, bacteria, viruses and other disease causing components and is considered one of the most dangerous things to contaminate a home. If you have young children or elderly relatives living in your home or employees with weakened immune systems in your office, sewage back up and water damage can be incredibly dangerous. This is not a cleaning job that is DIY; if not done properly, water damage and sewage back up can lead to mold growth in air ducts and walls, serious illnesses due to contamination and infected air circulation. Professionals like ServiceMaster by Rice will extract these bacterial disease causing found in flood water and sewage back up from your carpets, air ducts and walls to keep your family and employees healthy in the long run and to maintain some of your possessions after a serious water loss. Anything that cannot be washed in hot water will need professional cleaning or disposal, something that professionals like ServiceMaster can diagnose.
Mold Prevention
After a flood or a water loss in your home or business, you can expect mold to become an issue without proper cleaning or prevention. Mold grows quickly in a warm, moist environment, meaning Iowa’s warmer months with high humidity and flood risks provide perfect conditions for mold to thrive. By maintaining air flow and a constant mild temperature, most mold problems can be taken care of quickly even after a severe flood. Through careful testing, on sight analysis and cleaning, ServiceMaster by Rice conducts thorough mold remediation so you don’t have to worry about further damage once the water loss is taken care of.
Hiring a professional team like the one at ServiceMaster by Rice gets you experienced help after a flood, sewage back up or water loss in your home. Not only do you get help with water damage repair, you also get mold remediation, carpet cleaning, furniture cleaning and professional reconstruction assistance. Whether you have a small flood or a large water loss in your home or business, call ServiceMaster by Rice and get fast water damage help to get you back on track or fill out a service request to get help quickly.
Used for reference: http://www.iicrc.org/consumers/care/water-damage/
