Handling Water Damage from Outside Water

7/2/2024 (Permalink)

Mold and water damage often go hand in hand. Here we had to rip out the drywall and drydown the studs before we reinstall the drywall and repaint.

For most homeowners in Wichita water damage is a huge concern when it comes to their property. Broken pipes, drainage issues, or intense storms can all be major sources of water damage to properties, especially Wichita basements. With more storms on the horizon, we decided to put together some information for you to consider in protecting your home from water damage caused by storms. 

Prevention

Preventing water damage from occurring is much cheaper and hassle free compared to the alternative. Drainage is the first thing to look at. Ask yourself, are your gutters clean? How far away do your downspouts deposit the water from your home? Are they being deposited to an area which runs away from your home?

Making sure your gutters are clean and that the water they move goes far enough away from your home alone may be enough to prevent a water damage by itself. If your downspout is not bringing water far enough away, getting gutter extenders or French drains installed can carry that water to an area which slopes away from your home and send that water far away from your foundation.

Check your sump pump and consider how old is it. It is much cheaper to replace an old sump pump than it is to replace an old sump pump after a water damage has happened. Look at getting a battery backup or even better, a water pressure-based backup which will run for a long time even if you lose power or the primary pump. Another issue that can occur is when a sump pump exhaust hose is too close to the home. This will cause the water pumped out to flow back toward the house and back into the sump pumps reservoir. This will cause a constant cycle of pumping the same water out which will eventually burn out your sump pump. Look into more piping or even a gutter extender to send that water further away from your home.

We live in Kansas so we know that even if we do the best we can to prevent these kinds of things from occurring, mother nature still decides whether your basement ends up flooded or not. Fortunately, that’s why we have been here in Wichita for over 20 years helping people out. One of our employees answers the phone 24/7 and we offer emergency services day and night 365 days a year.

If you need help, we are ready to extract water, set up drying equipment, and everything else you need to make your home look "Like it never even happened." That is even more true today now that we offer reconstruction services so we can bring you from flooded home back to ready to host a party while dealing with just us. Call us today at 316-684-6700.

A Leak Under your Wichita KS Sink

7/23/2022 (Permalink)

The pipes in the cabinet beneath a kitchen sink are a perfect example of potential water damage waiting to happen. This could be due to bad pipe connection, frozen burst pipes, or even just old hardware.
A leak under the sink could go unnoticed for days or even weeks. Even if the leak is small, it can eventually cause considerable damage if left unnoticed. One red flag for an out of sight broken pipe is a sudden spike in your water bill when you haven’t changed anything.

If you have a pipe leak in your Wichita home, the first thing you should do to prevent more damage is to shut off the water supply. Then call SERVPRO of Southwest Wichita to come inspect the damage and help advise if you need to call your insurance company. We try to help you avoid a claim if possible because that can increase your premium or even get your policy canceled. One way we do this is by restoring and drying down wet materials instead of ripping them out. During our inspection we are typically able to give a general estimate on the price of the mitigation and clean-up which you can use to determine whether filing a claim is necessary.

Whether your home or business has been damaged by significant flooding or a simple leak, your kitchen repair often requires the attention of water remediation specialists who can restore the area quickly, give SERVPRO of Southwest Wichita a call at (316) 260-9011.

The Most Common Sources of Water Damage

11/1/2021 (Permalink)

Let us be your emergency contact (316) 260-9011.

Water damages occur in so many ways that sometimes it feels like water could come in for any reason. Since SERVPRO of Southwest Wichita is called on daily to help with water damages we have seen a lot of examples of water intrusions and their causes. No matter what the cause of your water damage is it is always important to know where your water shut off is, to have towels or another absorbent material on hand and to move any furniture or items out of the area of water damage to prevent further damage.

 In this post we are going to go over some of the move common sources of water damage and things you can do to prevent them from happening or minimize the effect if something goes wrong.

Take these tips into account when dealing with any kind of water based loss. One tip you can always employ is when you leave your house empty for several days turn off the main water supply to your home. It may save you a huge headache.

Causes of a water loss:

• Broken pipe
  • Turn off water supply immediately after finding a loss
  • Sometimes if you notice a large spike in your water bill that might indicate a broken pipe in a crawlspace or an area which you normally do not go around
  • Keep the broken part of the pipe after it has been fixed
• Appliance water supply or drain line
  • Many times after moving into a new home or buying a new appliance installation of the water features of an appliance cause water damage
  • Take extra care to check the installation of supplies and drains
• Water supply line to toilet
  • Changing out the plastic supply line for a metal braided line is something that could have prevent many water losses we see.
• Water supply line to washing machine
  • Similar to the appliance installation make sure both the supply and drain are properly installed
  • Opting to use a metal braided line may prevent a water loss entirely
  • Make sure the drain lines are secured, many losses are caused by a drain line coming out of or loss from the drain line connected to the home
• Broken sump pump
  • Having a new sump pump ready to swap out in case your current one breaks can prevent a huge loss from happening especially during a storm event when many pumps might be sold out.
  • Have a water based back-up pump in case you lose electricity. The water pressure is not affected by the loss of electricity and will continue to work.
• Water coming in from the outside
  • This can be addressed with improving the drainage from your home to move as much water away from your home as possible
  • The easiest thing to do is to add gutter extensions
  • Check this blog for all the steps you can take to protect your home

If you are concerned about any kind of moisture intrusion in your home feel free to call us for a free inspection where we utilize all of our restoration tools to examine your home. Our 24/7 emergency line is (316) 260-9011.

The SERVPRO Water Damage Process

8/5/2021 (Permalink)

If a water loss does occur in your home or business, you can call on our SERVPRO team to help quickly and efficiently.

Why choose us? SERVPRO of Southwest Wichita has a team of highly trained water damage specialists. Water restoration in homes and commercial buildings is a big part of our business, and we are ready with the expertise and experience to tackle whatever job you have. When you call us to help, we lay it out in a step-by-step process, so you are a part of and knowledge of what we are doing to restore your building.

Step 1: Emergency Contact

Water damage can be stressful, chaotic, and confusing. That’s why when you call us, we are here to help guide you through the process. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Immediate action is crucial when a water emergency strikes, save our number in your phone so that way you never have to worry again (316) 260-9011.

Our SERVPRO Representative will ask several questions:

• Your name and contact information
• Your insurance information (if applicable)
• The street address of the water-damaged home or business
• When did the flooding or water damage occur?
• What caused the water damage (if known)?
• Is there electricity available (on-site)?
• How many rooms are affected?

Step 2: Inspection and Damage Assessment

When our team arrives, we will do a detailed inspection of your home or business. We need to be able to determine the extent of the damage so we can provide you with the correct plan of action. If you haven’t already, we will try to locate the source of the moisture in your home or business so you can get it stopped it as soon as possible. We also will have to identify the classification of water, for more information on that check out our blog post on “How the Cleanliness of Water Can Affect Your Water Damage.” The level of contamination the water has will effect the restoration process. We will also check to see how far the moisture has traveled and move furniture or other items.

Step 3: Water Removal/ Water Extraction

After the inspection is done, we can start the water extraction process. We use pumps and vacuums to quickly remove the water from your property. We also offer a Move-Out Service is needed, we recommend this is your home or business will require extensive restoration or cleaning. After water removal we then inspect the carpet pad and carpet to see if it needs to be removed.

Step 4: Drying and Dehumidification

After the removal of water things may appear dry but they are still wet to the touch. Most building materials are porous and will retain water. This retained water can cause warping, deterioration, and mold damage. We will then use our air movers and dehumidifiers to dry        your home or business. We check the moisture levels daily to monitor the drying process.                                                         

Step 5: Cleaning and Repair

After the drying process your home or business will most likely require professional cleaning services. SERVPRO of Southwest Wichita specializes in restoring content damaged by fire, water, or mold.  Flooding and water damaged items have a very distinct odor, we are trained to identify and eliminate those offensive odors. We are also here to help with removal and disposal of any beyond repair materials.

Step 6: Reconstruction

The final step in the water damage process is reconstruction which is when we take the steps to get your home or business to its preloss conditions. It may involve smaller repairs such as drywall removal and installation, painting, and installing new carpet, or may require larger repairs.

If you are experiencing a water damage loss call us on our emergency line: 316-260-9011.

How the Cleanliness of Water Can Affect Your Water Damage.

6/9/2021 (Permalink)

The three categories of water; clean water, gray water, and black water.

When you have a water intrusion in your home or business there are many elements which affect the steps needed to protect and restore your property. One of the first determinations we make on the site of a residential or commercial water damage is the contamination level of the water. We call this water category and the category of water that affected your building or home will have a huge impact on the job that we have to do. The cleaner the water, the more we can save instead of throwing away and replacing building materials, which means a cheaper, less invasive, and shorter job altogether.

Here at SERVPRO of Southwest Wichita the IICRC’s standards are what we follow to ensure every water mitigation and remediation job we tackle is done correctly. The Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) is the organization that sets the restoration industries standards and practices. When it comes to the sanitary level of water there are three levels: 

• Category 1: Clean and Sanitary. Typically comes from a sanitary source such as faucet, toilet tanks, drinking fountains, or water heaters.
• Category 2: Grey Water which can cause illness or discomfort if ingested. Typical sources are dish washers, washing machine overflows, flush from sink drains, or toilet overflows with urine (no feces)
• Category 3: Black Water is grossly unsanitary which could cause severe illness or death if ingested. This includes sewer backups, flooding from rivers or streams, toilet overflow with feces, and stagnant liquid which has supported microbial growth.

These categories are also time dependent. Category 1 clean water will become contaminated category 2 water after 48 hours. Another 24 hours after that it becomes a category 3 loss. This change in category means a tremendous difference in the scope of work, cost of remediation, and time of job. 

If you are experiencing a water damage, call us on our 24/7 emergency line: 316-260-9011.