Southwest Dallas Homeowners Count on SERVPRO for Water Loss Mitigation

6/12/2019 (Permalink)

Water Damage Restoration Services by SERVPRO for Southwest Dallas

Water damage can be a part of several different types of losses for Dallas properties, both residential and commercial. A broken pipe or appliance failure might be the first types of issues that come to mind. Storms and flooding can also bring damage to a property that requires mitigation, including biohazard-level treatments. Even destruction from a fire can include massive amounts of additional issues from the water used to extinguish the fire. When improperly cleaned, water loss can lead to the growth of mold colonies, which require professional remediation.  

The type of water damage in the property matters as it affects everything from the kind of cleaning solutions needed to whether our technicians require additional protective gear to come into contact with it. The categories for water cleanup types are category one clean water, category two gray water, and category three black water, which carries a rating as a biohazard. 

Cleaning up disasters that occur with residential and commercial properties requires equal parts of compassion, experience, and skill. When SERVPRO of Southwest Dallas technicians come onto a site to mitigate fire, water, or other damage of any type, we know it is likely one of the worst days of the property owner's life, and we empathize and attempt to make the remediation process as stress-free as possible. Our goal is always to restore rather than replace whenever possible, which helps reduce the amount spent on replacing damaged building materials or belongings. Time is of the essence, and We're Faster To Any Size Disaster.

The skills that each Dallas SERVPRO technician acquires begins with the extensive and ongoing training they receive before ever setting foot onto a job site. We set up numerous scenarios for fire, water, storm, and mold damage for the technicians to learn the best practices for restoration and cleaning for every type of potential job they may find themselves on. 

Along with hands-on training, our technicians pursue numerous certifications in the restoration industry as per the guidelines of the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC.) SERVPRO of Southwest Dallas employees participate in ongoing in-house training, which starts with the ECTP-employee certification training program and continues as methods of restoration continue to advance. We utilize state-of-the-art moisture detection equipment including probes, and thermal imaging to detect anywhere water migrates in a commercial or residential property so effective removal of any elevated moisture occurs during remediation. 

An essential certification that SERVPRO of Southwest Dallas employees receive is for Water Damage Restoration Technician (WRT) and much of our specialized equipment assists in the mitigation of water damage. Portable extractors are one of the most frequently used items in our restoration arsenal. They quickly pull up large amounts of water, and when needed, we add weighted extractor wands, so the water absorbed into carpet and padding can be extracted and resulting in the saving of the carpeting in clean water spills, rather than have it counted as a loss. Another type of weighted extractor that we use frequently is the highly maneuverable Rover. This stand-on vacuum uses the weight of our certified Carpet Cleaning Technicians (CCT) to push water up and out where it is then collected and removed from the flooring. 

Dallas locals are no strangers to wild weather. The intense storms that roll through this area of Texas bring damages such as tree limbs through windows. High winds peeling shingles which lets rain leak in through a compromised roof or flash floods causing groundwater to enter a home are all water loss events that require professional cleaning and restoration to minimize damages to the structure and contents. The more quickly water extraction happens, the faster cleaning and water damage restoration efforts take place, which saves more articles from being counted as a loss. Our employees perform preventative measures on arrival, such as tarping over damaged roofs or putting barriers over broken windows until they can be repaired to stop any further water from entering the property.

SERVPRO of Southwest Dallas employees complete training and certification for Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration Tech (FSRT), and a crucial part of this training is the removal of water before it causes secondary damage after a fire. After extraction of as much moisture as possible, the drying phase of the restoration process begins. 

In the case of both water and fire loss, SERVPRO technicians may find the property requires controlled demolition techniques such as flood cuts. When this is necessary, our technician carefully cuts away, sheetrock above the waterline,  to encourage a significant amount of airflow within wall cavities for faster drying. This attention to detail can also significantly reduce reconstructions costs.

Drying a commercial or residential Big D property after a water loss is more than setting up fans to blow on wet surfaces. Our Applied Structural Drying Technicians (ASD) spend time setting up our air movers at specific angles to bank air throughout the affected areas to drive embedded moisture to the surface where strategically placed dehumidifiers capture and port away moisture allowing progressively drier air to cycle in the areas that are drying. We have specialized drying equipment such as drying mats to use in the restoration of wet hardwood flooring which can be restored on a case by case basis.

Once SERVPRO of Southwest Dallas technicians confirm drying goals are met, they move on to complete the cleaning and disinfection of all surfaces. This step is to inhibit the growth of mold and eliminate odors that water can leave behind. If the type of water loss is gray or black water, our technicians may find the situation requires stronger odor control methods. 

Mold growth is a particular focus before, during, and after cleanup of water damage. Because spores can set up home as fast as 48 hours and Dallas has year-round humidity levels in the optimal range that encourages mold growth, the expedited extraction and lowering of humidity in the structure needs to occur as timely as possible after a water-damaging event. If we find mold in the structure, our employees hold a certification as an Applied Microbial Remediation Technician (AMRT) and have the expertise and equipment to perform mold remediation on all types of structures.

No one wants a reminder of that time they dealt with water damage in their home, yet odors left behind can do just that. Often cleaning and disinfection are enough to remove foul odors. In cases where it is not, our Odor Control Technicians (OCT) deploy different methods and equipment to neutralize odors at the molecular level. The assortment of hydroxyl generators, ozone machines, ULV ultra-low volume foggers, and deodorizing gels and pellets are always at the ready stored at our facility and on our Green Fleet of vehicles.

SERVPRO of Southwest Dallas at (214) 463-5880 is available 24/7 to clean up and restore any size water damage to your property and make it, "Like it never even happened."