Water Damage Cleanup

5/23/2023 (Permalink)

Hopefully, you will never have to deal with this much water!

After a water damage incident, there are two primary methods for removing excess water from your property: extraction and evaporation. Extraction is a more efficient and faster process, capable of removing a larger volume of water within a shorter period of time. You can conduct a simple test to observe this by pouring a few ounces of water on your countertop in two different areas. Set up a fan to blow across one area, facilitating evaporation, while using a sponge or dry cloth on the other area. The results will likely support the effectiveness of extraction.

At SERVPRO of Dubuque, we employ both extraction and evaporation methods to expedite the drying process for your property. For extraction, we utilize various equipment such as hard floor wands and carpet extraction machines, including specialized weighted models like the "ride on" equipment pictured. These tools employ strong suction and downward pressure to extract water from carpets and pads, making it particularly effective for surface water.

However, when water has permeated into materials like hardwood floors, drywall, or wood, extraction alone becomes less effective. In such cases, we focus on evaporation, which involves utilizing air movement, dehumidification, and sometimes heat to facilitate the removal of water that has been absorbed or bound within hard-to-dry materials.

It's worth mentioning that we also employ a system called the Injectidry for hardwood floors, but we can delve into that topic in a future blog post.

Whether you're dealing with excessive surface water immediately after a storm or water that has become trapped within building materials, SERVPRO of Dubuque possesses the necessary tools and expertise to restore your property to its pre-damage condition, making it "Like it never even happened."