Wise Up To Water Damage
Oh no! You’ve found a leak in your home!
Don’t panic—water damage restoration services are available to help minimize and correct this frightening problem.
Before scheduling a water damage restoration service, it is important to educate yourself on how this damage occurs, how you can identify it early and how severe your damage may be.
Water damage is caused by leaking water that accumulates, eating away at the structure of your home. The source of this water could be a leaking pipe or appliance, or even rainwater that has found its way into your home.
Most cases of water damage are easily remedied if detected early. To check for water damage, examine window frames, doors and the edges of your ceiling, looking for discolorations and changes in texture that may indicate a place where water is leaking. Check your appliances for leaks, making sure the floor underneath and around them does not appear dampened or weak. Also pay attention for the smell of mold—a key sign of water damage in a home.
Water damage cases are typically broken into four “classes” of severity, which govern how a professional will approach each instance of water damage.
• Class 1 – Water damage of this kind is the least severe and hazardous to your property. Typically, these leaks are fairly new and affect only minor areas of your home, not including sensitive areas such as carpet. Cleanup is fairly simple.
• Class 2 – These cases are a little more severe, with significant damage occurring to entire rooms or areas of carpet. Water will have set for a longer period of time, causing more damage to materials and property.
• Class 3 – Easily identifiable by a foul smell, water damage of this kind can be toxic to you in your home. Flooding of this sort may have come from above, and significant damage to walls, carpet and ceilings is characteristic of this type of damage. Restoration is extensive.
• Class 4 – This classification is reserved for the most serious cases of water damage (such as floods), in which damage due to saturation is so great that advanced equipment and techniques must be utilized to restore property. Damage of this kind is highly unsafe for residents and recovery is often a long-term project.
If you’ve had a leak, restoration professionals are here to help restore your property and minimize damage. If not, know the signs and check regularly in attics and basements to keep your home safe and dry. Be prepared, and don’t let water damage outsmart you!