Brouwer Bros. Blog

Water Damage: The Longer You Wait, The More You Pay.

Did you walk down into your basement this morning and have the unpleasant surprise of wet socks? A sump pump failed, a pipe burst, water seeped it in after an overnight downpour: these are all very possible scenarios that can lead to flooding. After this frustrating discovery, the question on most people's mind is, "What do I do? Mop the floor? Buy a new sump pump?  Bail the water out with buckets? Call a professional flood damage restorer?" Depending on the type of the flood different actions are required. However the most important thing is that you do something. As the phrase goes, "Life happens" and you may think you are too busy to deal with your flood right away. However, when it comes to flooding the longer you wait, the more it costs you. Most floods follow different stages of damage potential in regards to how long the water sits. Here is the play-by-play damage that can occur in the minutes, hours, days, and weeks following a flood that is untreated.

Within the minutes following a flood, or as we sometimes say "water intrusion",several things occur. First, the water can spread into more and more areas which increase the cost. Also, any paper goods such as art work, cardboard boxes, and pictures can be ruined from absorbing moisture and can lead to swelling, warping, and delaminating.  The last cost-increasing problem that can occur in the following minutes is the wood stain on furniture can bleed onto the carpet; staining it permanently and the finish on the wood itself can turn white.

Within the hours after water intrusion even more costly damage can occur. Drywall can soak up the water and begin to swell and distort. More damage can occur to wood furniture that is touching the water with the wood delaminating and beginning to swell. Lastly, within the hours after flooding, the most potentially hazardous damage has its beginning with microorganism growing exponentially and consequential odor developing.

Within the days after flooding damage continues to hurt your wallet. Mold reveals itself visually and musty odors intensify which makes the location dangerous to occupants with weak immune systems or respiratory problems and they should be removed from the premises. Any materials that are "moisture-sensitive" (musical instrument, wood artwork, baseball card collections, etc.) can begin to swell even if they are not touching the water, but because of the heightened condensed moisture or high humidity. Finally, within the days after flooding moisture can wreak havoc on the building by causing metal to rust, electrical components to fail, doors and window casings to swell and split, and structural piece's (joists, studs, etc.) to  also swell and split.

Within weeks after resolved water intrusion you might begin to consider moving if you have been tough enough to stay in the location! The area is infested with visible fungi growing on organic materials that can be found on materials such as jute, paper, drywall, and paneling. Anything wood in your home or business are most likely ruined with them being wrapped, split, and having dissolved/destroyed finishes. Your costs increase faster and faster as the requirements for gutting the structure and replacing all structural materials become necessary. Finally, the dangerous and infested area causes an increase of liability to the occupants and workers as the health hazards amplify.

So, in conclusion, a small basement flood or overflowed bathtub may seem unimportant to deal with right away, but in actuality they can lead to a very, very expensive ordeal.

Go to Brouwer Bros Steamatic's website for more information on how our trained and certified IICRC inspectors and technicians using Infrared Cameras, moisture meters and high tech drying equipment to properley dry out your residential or commercial flood following the IICRC S-500 standards.  You can also go to our page on things you can do in the first 24 hours to minimize your loss.