What Is the Difference Between Water Damage Mitigation and Restoration?

9/15/2020 (Permalink)

San Jose Remediation Companies Define Water Damage Mitigation as Actions Taken to Lessen the Severity of Water-Related Damage, Whereas Restoration Involves Repairing Things to Their Pre-Loss State.

Water leaks, whenever they occur, are unexpected nuisances for San Jose homeowners that vary greatly in severity.  Some result from catastrophic pipe or container ruptures, appliance malfunctions, or roof failures, while others, like slow pipe drips, are much more insidious and capable of quietly doing extensive damage over time.  The keys to protecting your home from these costly dangers are keeping your eyes open for the subtle signs of leaks, having your house periodically inspected for them, and having any found repaired as quickly as possible.  The goal of all these efforts is to mitigate, or limit, water damage and lessen your need for expensive restoration services.

Is There Anything I Can Do to Limit the Effects of a Water Event on My Property?

San Jose water damage mitigation service SERVPRO believes there are some things you can do to reduce the ultimate effects of a water-related event.  Considering this, we offer you the following simple suggestions for minimizing the overall impact of a leak on your home and its contents:

• If possible, find the origin of the leak and stop it
• Turn off circuit breakers that supply power to the parts of your home impacted by water
• If the water event occurs during warmer months, turn on your home’s air conditioner to help dry out the interior of your house
• Help prevent carpet staining by putting aluminum foil under the legs of wooden furniture
• Remove valuable and moisture-sensitive objects from your home that are easily damaged or that could stain flooring
• Safeguard curtains and other fabrics by raising them up off wet floors
• Contact professional water damage remediators as soon as possible to your limit losses and make restoration efforts less necessary

If you take some of these measures, you are likelier to lower your service expenses, substantially decrease your losses, and reduce your recovery time.  However, with that said, there are no guarantees when it comes to water leaks and the trouble they cause.

What Do SERVPRO’s Water Damage Mitigation Efforts Involve?

When SERVPRO technicians work to lessen the impact of your water event, they take certain time-tested steps.  These measures, among other things, serve to limit the amount of moisture structural elements and household contents absorb, facilitate more rapid drying, slow microbial growth, and prevent water-related discoloration and staining.  Some of the mitigation actions we take to do all this include:

• Rapidly removing any standing water with industrial-strength extractors and wet vacs, thereby minimizing the time surfaces and objects are in contact with water
• Blocking furniture or moving it to our warehouse to safeguard it from suffering further water damage
• Tenting couch cushions in a dry area to facilitate the drying process
• Taping metallic zippers and buttons on wet upholstery to prevent rusting and fabric staining
• Setting up air mover-dehumidifier-Injecti-dry system networks to dry out your home’s interiors, as well as hidden spaces behind structural elements
• Disinfecting and deodorizing impacted materials with state-of-the-art foggers to prevent or hinder the growth of damaging microbes and neutralize their persistent unpleasant odors

In doing all of these things, SERVPRO is often able to prevent further structural injuries and content deterioration, as well as eliminate the sickening smells of water damage.

What Could Happen If Mitigation Work is Performed Ineffectively?

There are many reasons why it is crucial that you hire a good, reputable water damage mitigation service to work on your house.  These relate to protecting the overall structural integrity and livability of your home, avoiding total losses, securing valuable or irreplaceable possessions, and time and money savings.  A few of the specific reasons you certainly want to enlist the help of a high-quality service like SERVPRO to do your mitigation work are:

• Highly trained and experienced remediation companies generally get your job done faster and complete it right the first time
• The speed at which a service can perform its mitigation efforts largely determines how much can be saved and the ultimate cost of your water event
• Lower quality services usually do not have all the equipment necessary to successfully complete your job; cutting edge equipment is often needed to locate and deal with water/moisture in hidden/difficult-to-access areas
• If not effectively eradicated, microorganisms associated with water damage could discolor and stain surfaces, cause unbearably bad smells, and even cause wooden materials to disintegrate over time
• Work performed poorly the first time, costs you additional time and money and reduces your odds of successful restorations

So, while higher quality services usually cost more, they are generally worth the extra expense in the long run. This is because skilled and experienced companies like SERVPRO pride themselves on their ability to exceed their customers’ expectations. 

With all that said, remember that if you ever need assistance dealing with a water leak or other water-related issue, your dedicated neighbors at SERVPRO of NE San Jose are here to help.  Call us anytime at (408) 834-7663.