Helping Residents of Bristol Overcome Water Damage

9/21/2022 (Permalink)

You need IICRC-certified technicians for any level of water damage in your Bristol home. Call SERVPRO today for help.

SERVPRO Can Help with Water Removal Following Pipe Leaks or Bursts

Water intrusion events require immediate attention to avoid excessive property damages. Fixtures that directly connect to supply pipes, such as washing machines, showers, and faucets, can result in large quantities of liquid entering the home if they malfunction. SERVPRO is here to help reverse the damages caused by leaks, pipe bursts, and faulty appliances.

The severity of water damage in your Bristol home is determined by the quantity of liquid entering the property and the length of time it remains wet. Moisture contains microbes that can proliferate in your home's warm, humid conditions. The proliferation of microbes leads to stagnation and forces restoration to encompass decontamination, which can be damaging to your home. Porous materials, for example, are particularly susceptible to moisture contaminants and may require demolition with prolonged exposure to stagnant water. Burst pipes can damage your home through the sheer quantity of liquid they release. A broken pipe can release thousands of gallons of water in twenty-four hours. SERVPRO is a licensed service that has the experience to help with contamination issues, flooding from burst pipes, or smaller contained damages relating to liquid moisture.

Entering a flooded part of a property can be dangerous and requires attention to detail and experience. Our technicians wear thick, chemical-resistant gloves, full-body suits, and n-94 masks as part of our personal protective equipment. Steel-capped boots help protect technicians from debris, broken floorboards, exposed nails, and broken glass. Careful attention to slip and trip or electrical hazards from exposed wiring is equally essential. When working in a wet property, our equipment is run through ground circuit fault interrupters to prevent short-circuiting or other malfunctions during the extraction phase. To tackle potential contamination issues, we cut away sections of drywall from the lower portions of the wall and replace them with clean drywall once the area is appropriately disinfected and sanitized to a safe level.

Home Maintenance and Preventing Water Intrusion

• Checking that pipes are correctly insulating ahead of the winter months can reduce their propensity to split or crack.
• Clearing gutters from leaves or debris ensure that blockages do not backup causing harm to your home.
• Maintenance of appliances and hardware such as sump pumps can help to reduce the likelihood of malfunction.

The most effective mitigation tool in a restoration technician's arsenal is a practical understanding of the science of psychrometry. Psychrometry relates to how moisture, air, and materials act together. In a home environment, the practice of psychrometry could be through dehumidification, air movement, or heating. All of these practical techniques help to encourage fast drying through evaporation. However, drying the property as efficiently as possible is a balancing act. Warm air, for example, can hold more moisture than cool air. But once the air is saturated with moisture, the speed of evaporation is significantly reduced. This process is why dehumidifiers are often essential equipment alongside air movers or heating elements when attempting to dry a property. 

The Mitigative Benefits of Correctly Drying a Property

• Thorough drying of a property can help to reduce secondary damages, including the growth of bacteria, fungi, or viruses.
• Ensuring that humidity levels remain below 60 grains per pound reduces the chance of vapor damage that condensates inside walls or ceiling cavities.
• Many materials in a home environment are significantly weaker and more prone to breakage when wet.

If your home suffers from a burst pipe or malfunctioning appliance, contact SERVPRO of Bristol for water damage restoration at (860) 582-3330.