Can Water Damage Be Reversed?

If your home or office experienced significant flooding due to a burst pipe, appliance malfunction, or storm damage, you might think that the damage is too extensive to be repaired. However, that’s probably not true. In many cases, water damage can be reversed. Even in cases where it can’t be reversed, there are restoration steps that can bring your property back to its original condition.

Keys to Reversing Water Damage

Reversing water damage is often possible, but only under the proper conditions. The three keys to reversing water damage are:

• Rapid response
• Appropriate tools
• Proper training and experience

If you want to reverse water damage, you need to act quickly. Once water seeps into the structure of your property, the damage can begin immediately. Within 72 hours, mold will start to grow inside wet materials, so you need to get things dry by that time. Since some materials can take several days to dry, it’s important to start the drying process right away.

Successfully reversing water damage is a complicated process. Only people with proper training and experience in the process are likely to be successful. Training teaches a person the proper techniques to successfully reverse water damage, and experience teaches a person how to successfully implement their training. When you are looking for a restoration expert to reverse water damage, ask them about their training and experience in this area.

Water can seep deep into the materials of your property, including the flooring, walls, and contents. Once water gets into these materials, it may resist coming back out. Forcing the water out without damaging the material may require specialized equipment. When you’re looking for a professional restoration company to reverse water damage to your property, make sure they have the tools to do the job right.

Structural Drying

Structural drying is the process of removing water from building structures. It involves specialized techniques and tools that can pull water out of walls, floors, and ceilings fast enough to avoid structural damage.

Structural drying starts with water extraction. Professional water damage restoration experts have advanced tools that go far beyond your average wet/dry vac. This allows them to pull water out of carpets, cushions, and walls before beginning the drying process.

Next, the process turns to evaporating water stored in building materials. This involves the use of several tools. When there’s good surface exposure, professionals utilize air movers (advanced fans) to ensure the steady movement of air over the damp areas. For water trapped behind walls or under carpets, more direct methods using advanced tools are necessary to dry the area without pulling out materials.

To ensure proper drying over time, structural drying requires precise control over the temperature and relative humidity of the area, so water damage restoration technicians often use heating and dehumidifiers to make sure the air doesn’t get too cool or damp. This not only keeps the drying process going, but also prevents water from saturating previously dry contents or structures.

Content Drying

In addition to drying the structure of your property, it’s important to take steps to dry its contents. Water damage to cloth, paper, and electronics might seem irreversible, but with proper care most of the contents of your property can be restored.

Special drying techniques, sometimes including dry cleaning, can help restore cloth objects to their pre-water condition. Paper can weaken, swell, and stick to itself when wet, but careful handling of books and notes can protect them so that they can be dried. When properly dried, books can be preserved in readable condition with little or no visible sign of water exposure.

Electronics can be damaged by water exposure, but with proper care, they can also be preserved. Proper preservation of electronics is not only more convenient than replacing electronics when they get wet, it can be much cheaper, too.

When Water Damage Can’t Be Reversed

Unfortunately, in some cases, it’s not possible to reverse water damage. If the restoration process started too late, for example, mold growth might have penetrated porous structures. Once this happens, the infected materials, such as drywall, studs, and insulation, will have to be removed. Otherwise, spores will continue to spread from the area, posing health risks.

It might also be too late if water-loving microorganisms have damaged studs or joists, weakening the structure and causing a risk of collapse.

When water damage can’t be reversed, it will have to be repaired. The good news is that qualified restoration experts such as Alpha Omega can still make your home look as good as new.

Choose Alpha Omega Disaster Restoration in Billings

Alpha Omega Disaster Restoration is the restoration company of choice if your home or business experienced water damage due to flooding in Billings, Billings Heights, Columbus, Red Lodge, or anywhere in the area. We offer 24/7 emergency response services, and we can get started on reversing your water damage immediately.

Alpha Omega is the leading restoration company in the area, with over 50 years of combined experience in the restoration industry. We can handle every step of the restoration process, so you will only have one point of contact, no matter how complex the restoration process. We have the advanced equipment necessary to reverse water damage to your property, including drying out the contents of your rooms. Plus, we can coordinate with your insurance company to make for a smooth claims process. This helps you get compensation faster and ensures you get the maximum compensation under your insurance policy (note that flood damage is often not covered by homeowners’ insurance).

Time is of the essence if you want to reverse water damage to your property. Contact us immediately to get the process started. Alpha Omega provides water damage restoration services to commercial and residential properties in Billings, Billings Heights, Columbus, Red Lodge, and the surrounding areas.