Burst Pipes or Natural Disasters Can Lead to Significant Damage in your Marlborough Home

10/31/2020 (Permalink)

A flooded basement can harm cavities, flooring, and your contents.

SERVPRO Provides Flood Cleanup for Basements and Crawlspaces to Marlborough Residents.

Why do basements become flooded?
Below ground level rooms in your Marlborough home are more susceptible to the damaging effects of a flood. Often centralized water systems are located in cellars or basements while being below ground level can make them more at risk of groundwater flooding. Natural disasters can also overload sump pumps or other water extraction equipment resulting in pools of standing water. When your home suffers these events, it is vital to contact a restoration professional as soon as possible. Water can cause extensive and irreparable harm if it is left in a basement for too long. SERVPRO operates locally and can mobilize qualified restorers to get rid of standing water, dry the structure, and restore contents. You can contact us twenty-four hours a day on our emergency call line.

Are concrete floors resistant to flooding?
Hard floors may seem resilient, but it is still essential that you enlist professional flood cleanup of the basement in your Marlborough home if it floods. Concretes with a painted finish can disintegrate or blister under the presence of moisture. In properties built during the seventies and earlier, these paints could contain lead and be avoided by a homeowner with flooding issues. Concrete floors are also porous, allowing moisture to permeate the material, leaving behind calcium deposits and providing ideal mold growth conditions. Our roster of technicians includes qualified lead-based paint activities and renovation technicians (RRRP) who can safely assess and dispose of these sensitive materials. Our water restoration technicians can dry floors as quickly as possible (this typically takes days) and apply anti-microbial chemicals to prevent further the buildup of fungi, bacteria, or viruses in your basement.

Do restoration services communicate with homeowners?
    •    Our technicians always explain the necessary steps for restoring your home and how we aim to return it to its preloss condition.
    •    Crew chiefs regularly review scoping, pre-testing, and monitoring reports during restoration to provide real-time estimates for restoration length.
    •    We can answer all pertinent questions regarding restoration outcomes and your insurance estimate before and during a cleanup service.

Are restoration services available at all-hours?
There is nothing worse than waking up at night to find a burst pipe or leak in your home. Standing water can accumulate quickly, while the length of time building materials have exposure to moisture can be critical to their repairability. Our local technicians operate out of hours to help homeowners in an emergency. We take customer service seriously and arrive quickly at a job site to provide expert opinions on the extent of water damage. Our priority is to shut off the source of moisture then immediately begin water extraction and pumping. From there, a full inspection takes place, which is recorded and can be included in your insurance estimate. Reducing standing water is a crucial factor in reducing the timeframe and costs of returning a property to its preloss condition. We can ensure that your basement remains safe throughout the restoration and that high usage spaces, such as kitchens or bathrooms, are restored first if you are staying on the property.

What safety measures are put in place at a flooded property?
    •    Safeguarding your home against electrical hazards by inspecting the wiring and using Ground Flow Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) on all electrical equipment.
    •    Assessing the condition of ceilings or flooring to ensure it is not prone to collapse under additional water weight, equipment, or personnel.
    •    Correcting subfloor issues to guarantee safety and that they have not deteriorated to a dangerous level.

How does clean water flooding occur?
One of the most common damage scenarios for flooding can be a burst pipe or leak. These water mains run throughout a home but may also lack necessary insulation or usage to protect them from bursting. A basement area, for example, typically contains less insulation than other areas of the house. If the property is vacated for some time, you may find that water in pipes freezes, causing the lines to expand. Expansion inside pipes can result in splitting or bursting with potentially hundreds of gallons of water being expelled into the property. Fortunately, clean water emergencies are less severe than those caused by natural disasters or groundwater flooding.  We can often recover large amounts of your possessions and restore the building assembly materials, providing that the water category is stage one. Clean waters can still deteriorate over-time, which is why contacting professional restorers at the earliest opportunity is essential.

What emergency mitigation is practical for burst pipes in the basement?
    •    Extracting water from the floor and subfloor using a squeegee wand extractor attached to either a portable unit or truck-mount.
    •    Assess potential vapor barriers in the home and ventilate warm, dry air into water cavities to prevent further harm.
    •    Take temperature and relative humidity readings from the affected area, unaffected areas, and outdoor air to provide a drying goal for the restoration.

A flooded basement can harm cavities, flooring, and your contents. Contact SERVPRO of Marlboro / Concord at (978) 486-9868.