Canoga Park Homes Benefit from SERVPRO's Rapid Floodwater Removal and Drying

6/4/2019 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Extracts Floodwaters and Cleans Up the Mess in Canoga Park

SERVPRO Cleans Up Post-Drought Flood Damage in Canoga Park

After the long period of drought in this part of California, the long-awaited rains, unfortunately, have the potential to bring flood damage. The firm, dry ground is unable to absorb the rainwater adequately, and it can intrude into homes quickly.

SERVPRO received a call to mitigate flood damage to a Canoga Park home. Groundwater is a category three biohazard also known as “blackwater” and requires specialized equipment and cleaners to bring affected areas to sanitary standards for habitation.
Even though our technicians arrived a short time after the initial call, there was very little standing water left in the kitchen area where the intrusion happened. Our technicians wore protective clothing and scoped the room to determine areas where water migrated.

Water extraction efforts began almost immediately. We used portable pumps and made several passes to pull up as much moisture as possible from the surface of the floor. We found areas of excessive moisture behind the baseboards, which were removed to allow adequate air flow for drying. Thermal imaging showed water wicked into the sheetrock of a single wall. We used a technique known as “flood cuts” that is a form of controlled demolition that removes only the damaged sheetrock and leaves the framework for rebuilding upon.

Mold is a significant concern after water damage as the spores can set up home within 48-hours after a water intrusion. During the drying process of our remediation, SERVPRO technicians set drying goals in the humidity range that is below optimal conditions for mold growth, usually around 40%. We lower the humidity quickly using our dehumidifiers in tandem with air movers.

This setup works well because as the air movers cause water vapor to rise, the dehumidifiers capture and port it away from the area resulting in progressively drier air flowing into the room which speeds the overall drying process. Once the area confirms dry, and the room attains preset drying goals, we clean and disinfect all affected surfaces to leave the area both sanitized and hygienic.

SERVPRO of Canoga Park / West Hills is available at (818) 998-1500 24-hours a day to help homeowners overcome flood damage and get their lives back to normal. Whether the water damage is a little or a lot, with our equipment and experience, we can make it “Like it never even happened.”

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