Water Losses Can Be More Expensive Than You Think...

5/10/2021 (Permalink)

So you have had a water loss…you have soaked up the standing water, it seemed just a small amount in the hallways, it had puddled out of the washing machine onto your hardwood floors. And it appears dry, but the next day you notice some buckling of the hardwood. You run your hand over the floor and confirm that it is popping up in a place that the water sat last night. Now it’s almost a trip hazard for you and your toddler aged daughter.

You call Water Restoration services (example: SERVPRO of Salem West). The company says that they will be out in the next couple of hours to inspect the loss.

When the SERVPRO Tech arrives they inspect your hallway area and take moisture readings with equipment. They determine that the water did indeed make it’s way under your water resistant engineered hardwood flooring, and it is now trapped under the flooring. Since the flooring is unison throughout your entire lower level, they tell you that they are going to try and “Dry the floor in place.” This service will be costing hundreds of dollars, as opposed to what taking up the floor and reinstalling the floor would be. You sign the authorization to start work and they begin.

They bring in equipment, an air mover (Giant Fan) and a dehumidifier to pull the moisture out of the air. Then, they tent the flooring area that is wet and hook the machines up and vent them into the area. It now looks like a big white balloon laying flat on your floor. The technician communicates that if this works, the job will be less than your home insurance policy deductible, so you won’t need to file a claim. If it doesn’t work, the job could easily surpass $10,000 and they will let you know when they know more after monitoring the area for a couple days.

On day three the SERVPRO technician takes off the tented plastic that has enveloped the wet hardwood flooring over the past 3 days, to your shock and happiness, the floor has returned to it’s regular size and place in the hallway. It is no longer sticking up and causing a trip hazard. The SERVPRO Technician communicates that water can swell wood, when the moisture content gets too high in the material, many times the wood will return to preloss condition if it is dried out quickly and efficiently.