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Fire & Water - Cleanup & Restoration

What is a Staging Area for Water Damage Cleanup?

9/22/2020 (Permalink)

Red wood home in water puddle Our water damage experts are trained in a wide variety of restoration needs, even upholstery and fabric cleaning and odor control. Call us today.

SERVPRO Techs Streamline the Restoration Process From Start to Finish in St. Petersburg Properties.

The crew chief usually sets up a staging area in the house to keep the water damage cleanup process as fast and efficient as possible when SERVPRO works on St. Petersburg homes. This accomplishes multiple goals for the restoration process, such as:  

  • Eliminates the need to make repeated trips out to the service van for equipment or cleaning supplies  
  • Equipment can get set up in the order needed for more efficiency  
  • The floor and area gets protected with plastic drop cloths  
  • Allows for the easy mixing of customized cleaning solvents and solutions as needed to handle special cleanup situations  

Can Homeowners Remain in Their Home During Water Removal?  

Whether or not a property owner can remain in their St. Petersburg home during water removal and restoration depends on the scale of the damage and the type of water in the house. There are 3 main categories of water: clean, gray, and black. The first two types do not carry significant health risks, although gray water should get handled with gloves, however black water contains sewage, bacteria, chemicals, or other harmful elements. In cases of black water cleanup in a home, the homeowners should make arrangements for people and pets to stay elsewhere until the mitigation completes as coming into contact with this water can be harmful and can cause health issues. 

What is Cross-Contamination During Water Damage Cleanup?  

When SERVPRO technicians work on a home with water extraction needs, particularly in situations involving black water, the air vapor can contain contaminants and harmful elements. The techs use a multi-layered approach to avoid cross-contamination in the worksite:  

  • Establishing containment around the worksite using heavy-gauge 

polyethylene plastic

  • Air scrubbers get used to capture airborne particulates   
  • Negative air chambers assist in the removal of contaminants  
  • This setup allows "clean" air to enter and ports away contaminated air

Does Heavy Furniture Pose a Problem During Water Mitigation?  

When SERVPRO techs handle the removal of water in a home, they attempt to limit the disruptions to the house as much as possible. If a home has large articles or moving cumbersome pieces poses difficulties, the techs can place it on blocks to inhibit the changes of wood stain spreading onto the wet carpet.   

When the water extract needs include removing carpet or tile that has heavy furniture on it, the techs can move it to a safe, secure area. In situations where a pack-out gets performed, the techs move out an entire room to another location; it is an exacting process:  

  • The techs notate every item and its location in the room  
  • Photographs get taken of the articles to document the process  
  • The items are stored either on-site or in-facility

Why Do SERVPRO Techs Keep Moving the Extraction Equipment Over the Wet Area?   

This is an action known as a "dry pass." The techs use their professional equipment to extract the water and then do several passes with their wands to remove the maximum moisture. This tactic assists in lowering the amount of time needed to dry the structure. 

One of the biggest challenges on any water damage job is locating all areas of moisture that need attention. Water can run rapidly and wind up far away from the point of origin. With this in mind, SERVPRO techs rely on their array of moisture detection equipment to find the water within the structure. Sheetrock is usually apparent as it deteriorates rapidly upon exposure. Still, a subfloor that has seepage from above needs diagnosing through probes or other types of penetrating devices.

Drying the structure and contents of the home post-extraction is never a one-size-fits-all process. The technicians carefully measure the air-moisture levels and determine what the baseline humidity levels are for the home. Then they set interior humidity goals and monitor the process by taking readings while the drying equipment runs. This attention to the process ensures that the goals get attained, and the structure verifies as dry before continuing on to the final step of cleaning surfaces and the application of any odor control methods. 

Once the mitigation efforts complete, the SERVPRO crew chief walks the property owner through the worksite and goes over the actions taken to ensure the homeowner is pleased with the outcome. 

SERVPRO of NE St. Petersburg at (727) 522-0000 stands ready to assist local homeowners to address their water removal needs. The trained, certified technicians are available 24/7 and arrive within hours of the initial call to extract the moisture and dry the property to get back to normal more quickly. We’re Faster To Any Size Disaster.

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