Basement Flooding - The Fire Restoration Team
When calling up our contractors ASAP, you save yourself the endless headaches, financial losses, and health-risks that come with floods. Therefore, you need help from TFRT professionals.
Signs You Need Flood Mitigation
Thanks to our network of contractors and clean up equipment, we can be onsite with a few hours after your call. We use dehumidifiers and other state-of-the-art equipment to get started. Since humidity is the largest contributor to secondary problems, our experts make sure to dehumidify areas such as the basement by circulating the air.
Speaking of basements, they are the toughest areas to prevent flooding because of their low elevation. If your basement has standing water, you need it pumped out right away. We must be careful though. Draining basements too quickly can cause the flooring and walls to possibly collapse. For those of you living in an older home (pre-1980s), asbestos is one of the last materials you would need to moisturize.
Contaminants come into your home or commercial property after a flood. Thus, floods can expose the interiors of any building, therefore causing contaminants like the following:
Since floods occur in multiple properties and span for miles on end, they can cause undesirable things to enter people’s properties and possibly jeopardize health. One scary outcome that could occur from a flood is flesh-eating bacteria entering. Streptococcus, Clostridium, and Klebsiella are just some of the deadly strains of bacteria that mix in water. Moreover, it is our duty to spot these problems right away.
Another problem that comes from flooding is mud. Even though mudslides are a major cause for dirt or mud to enter your property, most likely, the water that entered probably mixed with other substances like dirt or mulch.
Mosquitoes lay eggs in standing water. If you leave it, you end up having the risk of diseases like West Nile and Eastern Equine Encephalitis being transmitted in your property.
Sometimes sewage can mix in floodwater, especially if you live in a densely populated residential area.
Algae buildup occurs. In extreme cases, the odor can emit from these organisms is putrid. The last thing you need is for it to build up.
Leave Flood Remediation to the Experts
During this process, we like to keep things extra safe for you by sanitizing and treating areas that are subject to building up bacteria or mold with antibacterial agents and allergen-free cleaning devices.
For those of you wondering if this service is covered under your insurance plan, it often times depends. We work in everyway to make sure you can have your claims processed.
How do You Fix a Flooded Floor?
The Fire Restoration Team drains out all the flooded water from your home. Anything that is soaking wet would be taken out.
Afterward, we remove moisture from surfaces that absorb it such as plaster and wood. Lastly, we ventilate the interior of your flooded property by installing HEPA filtration devices.
What About the Electrical Damage Mentioned Earlier?
Electrical outlets and fixtures are things that TFRT keeps an eye on. Everybody knows that water and electricity are the worst combination to have. We shut off everything off for precautionary purposes. Then, we have an electrician take a look at it. Once the flood water is gone, the electrician will communicate with you and our team in regards to drying or repairing them before you return them your home or office. Nevertheless, expect devices like panels, junction boxes, and switches to not function properly.
How do You Disinfect After a Flood?
The way The Fire Restoration Team does it is by cleaning every surface with hot water & a cleaner. Next, a disinfectant is added to eliminate any possibility of bacteria growing. Finally, everything is dried.
Many homeowners do not consider a sump pump as a utility requiring maintenance. Unfortunately, that opinion could not be further from reality. In many cases, heavy rainfall is the causation of flooding.
When water compounds after a weeks worth of rainfall, the last thing you would want to do is step into a room with water that is ankle or knee-deep. By making sure you have a robust sump pump, you are saving yourself thousands of dollars as it does the work for you in keeping water from building up.
Another common thought Americans have is that they do not need to maintain the sump pump that has been working for years.
Although they are more reliable than other utilities, they are still subject to wear and tear. Therefore, don’t do a disservice to yourself. You can follow these steps to fix it yourself or you can have them serviced.
• Double check that the pump is connected to a source of power.
• Glitches in circuit breakers occur often. By resetting them, you may be able to facilitate the connection that is crucial for a sump pump to function properly.
• Make sure that the sump pump isn’t part of a switched circuit.
• Check that the discharge outlet is debris-free.
• Remove anything such as debris that is in the sump pit. This prevents the float switch from hanging up.
• Reactive the pump by moving the float switch up and down. If there isn’t one, it will most likely have a sensor of some type. Just wipe it clean and that should do the trick.
• Clean out any debris inside the basin that may cause the float switch to hang up.