When you find water damage in your office, it’s imperative that you do what you can to fix it as quickly as possible so business can resume as usual. After all, you have employees who are counting on you to provide a safe work environment, and the results of water damage such as mold, mildew, and other byproducts create a serious health hazard. Water damage shuts down production, meaning you’re cutting down on any work you should be doing. Even in the age where a lot of people prefer to work from home, if you primarily work in an office the transition can still be chaotic, especially if you’re in charge of taking care of the water damage at the same time. Know these steps to water remediation for the instance when your office has a burst water pipe or another source of flooding.
Clean Up Standing Water
The first step of commercial water damage restoration is cleaning up any standing water, both on hard and porous surfaces. This step is essential when you want to restore an office back to its original state because it speeds up the drying process significantly later. Wet-vac machines and commercial machines that are very similar are used to get all of the standing water on hard surfaces and water soaked into carpets and other porous surfaces out, meaning your office can dry much faster. Depending on how the water damage occurred, this can even lead you to where the water came from if you haven’t found it already.
Cleaning and Sanitizing
Using OSHA-approved cleansers is one of the best ways to ensure that mold spores are completely killed so that any potential problems don’t come back to bite you later. During this stage, all affected surfaces will be completely wiped down so that everything is completely clean.
Final Drying
Even after all of the standing water has been removed and as much water as possible has been extracted from carpets, furniture, and other soft surfaces, there will still be water that water-extraction machines can’t get out. There’s also going to be a lot of moisture in the air that needs to go somewhere else. Box fans and larger commercial machines can be used to help the rest of the moisture evaporate. Commercial dehumidifiers can also be used to get rid of excess moisture lingering in the air.
Pre-Restoration and Final Restoration
Even when you completely dry out the materials that were affected by the flooding, there will likely be drywall, carpet, and other materials that aren’t salvageable. One of the final steps in these cases is to remove these materials and replace them as quickly as you can. Finally, you’ll finish off by putting up new trim work, backsplashes, and more.
If your office was recently flooded, don’t worry because you can make your office a safe and comfortable place again with water damage remediation. The process can be difficult and long depending on how bad the damage is, but with some patience and hard work you can get things taken care of in no time. From cleaning up the water left behind to sanitizing, the tools you need will be at your disposal. After that it’s just a simple matter of completely drying out your office and replacing or restoring what couldn’t be salvaged.
Kara Masterson is a freelance writer from Utah. She graduated from the University of Utah and enjoys writing and spending time with her dog, Max.
