What Safeguards from Contaminated Flood Water Can Professional Disaster Recovery Companies Offer Storm-Damage Victims in Tallahassee?

10/18/2020 (Permalink)

We are ready to provide professional storm and flooding mitigation and remediation round the clock with one call to (850) 536-6599.

Specialized Training and Knowledge of and Adherence to Local Hazardous Waste Regulations Prepare SERVPRO to Resolve Flood and Storm Damage Safely for Tallahassee Residents

You and your family are understandably rattled in the aftermath of a devastating storm in Tallahassee, whether a hurricane, tropical storm or depression or a wind and thunderstorm roaring across the Panhandle from the west. The realization that the water rising in your lower storage or living levels contains significant quantities of contamination is sobering at a time when you are feeling reasonably pessimistic that your house can ever feel like home again or even be habitable.

Can a House Ever Regain Its Past Function and Appearance After Severe Storm Damage and Flooding?
When unrelenting winds and torrential rains attack your Tallahassee dwelling, flood and storm damage can seem irreparable. The water comes at your property from all angles, destroying building materials on every level and then percolating down into the foundation or crawl space to gnaw at the building's very supporting structures. Common routes water takes to invade you home include:

    •    Through the roof after shingles and flashing rip away due to vicious winds
    •    Through smashed windows and doors, and holes in siding created as tree limbs and debris crash and burst through exteriors
    •    Through overland flooding, walls of water pushing in through garden-level and egress windows, and seeping through cracks and the porous materials of a foundation as the ground surrounding your home becomes supersaturated

How Do Professional Flooding and Storm Damage Restorers Manage the Enormous Influx of Water?
Your home's future might seem grim as water pours in from everywhere, but SERVPRO's highly qualified flood and storm damage team trains for precisely this kind of crisis. Make the call immediately, as we answer 24/7. We arrive with fully-stocked service vehicles and certified technicians led by an experienced crew chief or project manager. The crew lead assesses your home directly for safety and hazard risks and controls those concerns before giving the nod to the workers to commence emergency services such as:

    •    Boarding up and tarping of exterior damage
    •    Shutting down electricity temporarily to avoid shock risks
    •    Moving contents out of affected areas, either to a dry, protected space on your property or to our production facility
    •    Positioning submersible pumps in spaces where the flooding is deeper than two inches (gas-powered equipment so electricity unnecessary)
    •    Using truck-mounted extractors (our service vehicles carry generators, so we do not need your power connected)

How Does Rainwater Become Contaminated So Quickly?
SERVPRO categorizes flood water as extremely contaminated or Category 3. This realization can be shocking and hard to understand, as rainwater seems as though it should be relatively clean. No matter how contaminant-free rainwater is as it falls from the sky, it swiftly picks up a wide range of substances that mix with the water to create chemical and biohazard concerns:

Debris from roofs and crumbling building materials can taint water coming in from exterior damage, ordinary dirt joined by:

    •    Organic hazards such as moldy leaves and branches
    •    Crumbling wall and ceiling materials
    •    Asbestos in shingles, flooring, plumbing, heating, and HVAC pipes (for fireproofing and heat protection)  
    •    Lead paint chips and dust

Overland flooding can contain countless contaminants:

    •    Mud and silt
    •    Road and sidewalk debris, including oils, gas, dead animals or insects, decomposing organics (molds and mildews plus the materials they consume)
    •    Landscaping chemicals
    •    Industrial waste
    •    Sewage from overwhelmed sanitary waste systems
    •    Sewage from your home's waste pipes if they back up because of the sheer quantity of water flooding every system

Is Mopping Up and Drying Out the Storm Damage Flooding an Adequate Response?
Obtaining professional help is critical when removing and drying out your home after storm damage and associated flooding. SERVPRO crews not only collect and remove the contaminated muck and water; they also contain the dangerous fluids and solids for appropriate disposal. We are up to date on the hazardous waste disposal requirements in your locality and take care of the paperwork and the actual transfer of fluids and debris. Also, our workers:

    •    Clean affected surfaces with EPA-registered products
    •    Disinfect affected surfaces with EPA-registered antimicrobials
    •    Ensure the detection and removal of all trapped water
    •    Conduct effective structural drying
    •    Process and restore the contents of your home either offsite at our production facility or in a sheltered space on your property
    •    Arrange for repairs and build backs of damaged structural components

The dangers of incompletely removed and inappropriately disposed floodwaters due to storm damage are well known to SERVPRO of North Leon County. We are ready to provide professional storm and flooding mitigation and remediation round the clock with one call to (850) 536-6599.