What To Know About Water Damage Repair

There are many reasons your home may suffer from water damage and they can range from severe to mild. They fall into 3 broad categories of natural, plumbing, and appliances. Some examples of each include:

natural:

- floods
- condensation
- humidity

plumbing:

- burst pipes
- backed up sewer
- toilet overflow
- bathtub overflow
- condensation on pipes

appliances:

- leaking freezer
- refrigerator
- broken hose on the washing machine
- water heater leak/break
- leaking dishwasher

Depending upon the severity of water damage, it might be best to call in professional help for water damage repair. If the problem isn't dealt with correctly and thoroughly, you could leave yourself open for a world class mold invasion.

However, it not only depends upon the severity of the water damage, but also, maybe even more importantly, the type of water. Is it clean water damage, grey water, or black water?

There are three classes, or levels, of water types when accessing water damage: clean water, grey water, and black water.

Clean water, or level 1, is clear and odorless. This is usually caused by water supply lines to appliances in your house. There should be no debris of any kind in this water.

Grey water, or level 2, is mildly clear, but has some debris. This type of water needs to be handled with caution as it probably contains harmful bacteria. Grey water examples are when sump pumps fail or a toilet overflows.

Black water, or level 3, is not clear water and usually has a foul smell. It is full of harmful bacteria and mold. Anything damaged by black water needs to be removed from the house and thrown away. This type of water comes from broken sewer lines, floods, standing water, streams, rivers, and oceans.

Home water damage repair consists of the following basic steps:

1. Correct water source problem – fix broken pipes, sewer problems, wait for flood waters to subside\
2. Remove water – wet-vacs and towels work best for this
3. Clean/disinfect area - use disinfectant product to help kill any bacteria that might be lurking
4. Completely dry out area – this may require multiple fans and dehumidifiers
   

In general, level 1 home water damage repair is the easiest in that you don't need to worry much about any harmful bacteria in the water – it should be fairly clean. But whether the water damage is a little bit, from condensation on a window for example, to a lot, from a busted pipe within your house, clean up needs to happen immediately.

If clean up does not happen quickly, mold will have a chance to germinate and start growing. It only takes 48 hours of continuous moisture for most mold species to start germinating. And mold removal is just another problem you don't want to have to deal with after cleaning up from water damage. Using a disinfectant is always advisable, but not necessary for clean water damage.

For level 2 water damage repair, disinfecting needs to be a priority along with clean up. Anyplace the water seeped now has the possibility of being contaminated. Disinfecting will depend on what it is that needs cleaning, as there are different products for floors, walls, appliances. A product like OdoBan is both a disinfectant and deodorizer and can be found at most home improvement stores.

Level 3 water damage repair should be performed by professionals. Anything contaminated by this water needs to be removed from the home and trashed. This water could be full of anything, and your house will become a big petri dish if items are not removed and fully replaced.

If anyone in your household starts suffering from classic mold symptoms after any type of water damage, take it seriously. It is telling you that you did not get your home completely dried out, and it will only get worse.

Ceiling water damage has many sources, from leaking roofs, to condensation dripping from pipes above, to pipe leaks/bursts on the floor above.

The first step in ceiling water damage repair would be to correct the water source problem. The trickiest of this is if it is from a leaky roof, as peaks and valleys in the roof have a way of redirecting the water flow from the roof. The leak is not always right above the spot on the ceiling, sometimes the water travels great distances before gravity brings it to the ceiling. Most other problems that cause ceiling water damage are easy to determine.

After fixing the water problem, you will need to remove the part of the ceiling that has damage. You should also remove 3 to 6 inches outside of the actual damaged piece, so as to ensure you remove all the moisture.

If there is any insulation above the ceiling, make sure you remove it as well and replace it, otherwise you can get a mold problem.

If at all possible, let the hole in your ceiling completely air dry for a day or two. Try tilting a fan up towards the ceiling will help air out any moisture still up there. Always be careful of any appliances in the house that have a pilot light when using a fan. There is the possibility of blowing out the pilot light and gas fumes building up in your home.

Repair the ceiling piece.

Drywall water damage repair pretty much mimics the ceiling water damage repair. Find the water source and correct it. Cut out the damaged drywall and remove any insulation behind it. If the drywall is damaged at the bottom, you should also remove the bottom trim and check that for moisture as well. Replace the trim if necessary. If not, keep it off until after the wall is completely dry.

Use fans angled at 45 degrees to the wall, every 10 feet for a day or two. This air flow will help dry out the wall. Always be careful of any appliances in the house that have a pilot light when using a fan. There is the possibility of blowing out the pilot light and gas fumes building up in your home.

Repair the drywall and replace the trim.

Water damage to your floor can be very extensive.

If you have severe hard wood floor water damage, repair can be very costly. If there is any warping, you must remove the hardwood and replace it. If there are just water stains, you can sand the area of the staining, re-stain the wood if necessary, and reseal the wood.

Carpet water damage is virtually impossible to take care of by yourself if the entire carpet got flooded. If your wall-to-wall carpeting got completely soaked, you will probably be better off just completely removing it and replacing both the carpet and the padding, unless you hire professionals who can completely dry the carpet, padding, and sub-flooring.

It is actually the padding that causes the problems, as it is very difficult to dry out, while most carpeting will dry out quite well. If possible, you may be able to hire someone to just come and remove and replace the padding, but honestly, that sounds like more work and hassle. You will need to remove the padding, let your existing carpeting completely dry, then reinstall the padding.

If the water damage happened on concrete, tile, or laminate, a good disinfectant cleaning after fixing the water source and cleaning up the water is usually sufficient.