Flooding and other forms of water damage are always going to be difficult to deal with. This is simply due to the severity of the issue. Water is one of the single most powerful forces on the planet. Even small bodies of water exert a tremendous force in terms of weight. And water can nourish life or damage it. However, that doesn’t mean that flooding damage is inevitable. One can both mitigate flood damage and use various recovery methods. And this is further aided by understanding five common misconceptions about water damage restoration.
1. Restoration and replacement
There’s quite a few misconceptions about the cost of restoration when compared to replacement. Many people assume that it will be most cost effective to replace items. But it’s far more common for restoration to be the more cost effective option. One of the big reasons for this misconception is that time factors into it. The costs tend to go up as people wait and allow items to become further damaged by the water. But if one attends the restoration in a timely manner then it will be much more cost effective.
2. Cleaning will damage carpets
People sometimes assume that any carpet cleaning will damage its overall integrity. Basically they’re afraid that cleaning a carpet will ensure it just becomes dirty all the faster later on. This dissuades people from using proper water damage restoration on carpets. But this was really only a concern for past techniques and technologies. Older equipment and cleaning products took a toll on carpets which didn’t happen today.
3. Carpets as a gauge of overall progress
People often assume that carpets are something of a canary in a coal mine. If a carpet is wet then they assume water damage might still be in progress elsewhere in the home. And if the carpet is dry then they feel it’s no longer a concern. But in reality it’s better to guage this process by the structural elements. This means paying closer attention to walls and cement flooring.
4. Smoke damage as a continual presence
People often show concern about how long smoke will continue to irritate people’s noses. It’s quite common for people to assume that smoke damage will always smell. Again though, this also tends to relate to the speed by which people attend to damage. The faster smoke damage is taken care of the more complete the overall restoration process. Likewise, people often forget that smoke damage is even a concern with water damage. But flooding tends to have negative repercussions on electrical systems. As such, flooding and fire damage often go hand in hand.
5. Cost of the restoration in comparison to DIY
Other tips have touched on the fact that speed is of the essence when dealing with smoke damage. This is especially important when considering doing it yourself, or DIY, efforts. People simply don’t have the tools or expertise to handle water restoration on their own. This tends to leave people with lasting damage which requires calling in for professional help. And the end result is that it usually costs more to try doing it oneself than to simply call the experts in the first place.
Trying to handle it on one’s own can actually make the damage worse. And the time spent not directly working on the problem is time which allows damage to escalate over time. But when one just uses experts for the task then it’s started and finished much faster. This prevents the water damage from escalating over time.