Stop the Stink—Tackling Water Damage Quickly

5/1/2024 (Permalink)

Trust our team at SERVPRO to provide comprehensive services for a full recovery for all your water damage restoration needs.

You come home from work and immediately step into a puddle. Your dishwasher finally gave out and malfunctioned while you were gone or you left a window open and an unexpected storm blew through.

No matter how it happens, discovering water on your floors is never fun. While you may think that grabbing a bucket and a mop will take care of the situation, oftentimes that is not enough in order to fully recover from a water disaster.

Dealing with water disasters right away by getting us on the phone is crucial if you want to avoid more damage in the form of rot, mold growth and stubborn odors.

The Path of Water

Water is flowing through our homes all the time, but it is usually tucked away in pipes or flowing through fixtures without much cause for thought. Unfortunately, the second water gets where it shouldn’t, it will start to leak and seep into the tiniest of cracks and crevices. This leakage will continue until the water has stopped flowing, which means it can find its way into some pretty hard-to-reach areas.

Stopping the flow of water and cleaning up the visible moisture will probably be your first reaction. However, even if you clean up all of the standing water on your floor, chances are that there is already moisture that has settled behind your walls and under your floors. These parts of your home don’t have proper air movement, which means that the water will linger without evaporating right away.

Over time, this water can start to impact your home’s internal structures, causing swelling to occur in important structural beams, rusted metal and even mold infestations. In fact, it only takes 24–48 hours for mold to grow from a few spores to an entire colony. You could be dealing with a serious mold outbreak on top of frustrating water damage if you don’t take action right away.

Following the Smell

If your water leak was relatively small and you decided to tackle the cleanup on your own, keep an eye out for any musty or earthy smells over the next week or so. If you missed even a little bit of the moisture, mold can start to grow and take over an entire space. Follow your nose to try and track down where it is coming from and then get us on the phone.

Our water damage restoration team will ensure the rest of the water is removed while our odor removal specialists will tackle those stinky odor particles. We will contain the room by shutting off your HVAC system and vents and then we will filter the air. Finally, we will clean and sanitize the entire surface so your space is fresh, clean and ready for normal living once again.

Don’t ignore signs of a water leak. Contact SERVPRO® for a full recovery.