What Actions are Necessary to Restore Sanitary Conditions after Flood Damage Affects a Condo in the Upper West Side?

10/29/2020 (Permalink)

Contact SERVPRO at (917) 498-1362, for flood damage mitigation services. We are available 24/7.

SERVPRO is Well Versed with General Cleanup and Removal of Harmful Substances from Properties after Flooding Incidents.

A flooding incident can affect any section of a condo, whether it is individual units or common areas, like the parking lot. Restoring the property to its preloss state takes several processes, including sanitizing all the areas the floodwaters reach. Sanitization may also be necessary for areas unaffected by the water since moving in and out of the facility can spread contaminated materials from the affected areas. SERVPRO helps ease the restoration of flooded condos in the Upper West Side. 

What does sanitization require after flood damage affects a condo in Upper West Side? 

• Removal of dirty water
• Removal of solid wastes like mud, silt, or raw sewage
• Removal of affected building materials
• Cleansing all affected materials

Flooding affects properties in different ways, including depositing harmful substances on surfaces or deep within materials. Moisture action also breaks down materials or starts chemical processes within the materials. Restoring sanitary conditions in a property is only possible after addressing all these issues. Our SERVPRO crews break down the process into groups of related tasks making it easier to handle the damage.

Is it possible to prevent contamination of a property once flooding occurs?

The Intrusion of floodwaters into a condo readily spreads contaminants around the property. The initial dispersal of such materials is limited only to sections where the groundwater reaches. Contaminants can only spread in the rest of the property through secondary transfer by foot traffic or aerosolized through the air. It is possible to prevent such secondary spreading by taking timely preventive steps.

Our SERVPRO technicians can help by setting up physical barriers to limit people and air movements from spreading materials from the affected areas to the unaffected sections. We set up the barriers using plastic sheets and other unique accessories such as spring-loaded metallic poles. It takes limited time to set up the barriers creating airtight protection around the desired sections of the condo. With this option, our technicians can: 

• Block hallways, doors, and other access points
• Create three-side rooms within rooms
• Seal off sections of the property

With the temporary barriers in place, we can be sure that the areas we clean or disinfect cannot be re-contaminated by people or the other steps we take to restore the property, such as running air movers to improve the evaporation rate from wet materials.

Which resources are needed for efficient cleanup of the condo?

• Various types of water extractors 
• A variety of cleaning tools 
• Access equipment like ladders or cherry pickers
• Miscellaneous tools such as shovels, pry bars, and saws

Since the soils introduced by flooding into a property vary, several types of equipment are necessary to facilitate clean up. For instance, removing floodwaters may require different extractors at different stages, including self-priming slurry pumps, which remove water containing dissolved solids like mud and silt. Regular high-capacity extractors with accessories such as extra-long hoses are also necessary to fast-track water removal if there is a considerable volume of standing water in the property. 

Deteriorated materials within the walls or floors must also be torn down because once porous materials are contaminated, it is hard to cleanse them by cleaning or other restoration procedures. Our SERVPRO technicians arrive at the loss site prepared for such tasks by bringing building tools like saws and pry bars to facilitate the removal of drywall, insulation, and other porous materials affected by the floodwaters. 

Cleaning all the surfaces, including floors and walls, is necessary to remove visible soils and invisible contaminants. Our crews apply potent cleaning agents, including EPA-registered disinfectants. The task also requires proper agitation to reach and remove all the substances from materials. Our technicians use rotating brushes or pressure washers to provide the strength needed for removing such substances. 

What are some challenges that might prevent a smooth restoration process?

Sometimes the restoration of the condo might be affected by factors beyond the damages caused by flooding. For instance, if common areas and some units are affected, it might not be clear who should shoulder the cost of restoration.  Another problem is the failure to understand the full extent of damage and especially moisture spread patterns. Identifying the problems at stake can help people make decisions faster. Our SERVPRO technicians rely on state-of-the-art equipment such as thermal cameras and thermos-hygrometers to reveal unseen problems such as water intrusion into hidden sections of the building or excessively humid air, which can lead to unnecessary microbial growth, lengthening the time taken to restore sanitary conditions.

SERVPRO of Upper West Side can help the restoration of a flooded condo. Call us at (917) 498-1362 when you need help. We're Faster To Any Size Disaster.