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Should I Hire a Professional After Water Damage?

People are tempted, even driven sometimes, to take on the cleaning when faced with water damage. Most incidences of water or moisture damage won’t have the daunting impact of a flood or natural disaster. If the damage doesn’t look too bad, or if you have some experience with this kind of clean-up, you might be tempted to save some money. If you are thinking about doing it yourself, you should know there are some very solid reasons to hire a professional water damage company. Those reasons go beyond just saving money. They address your buildings long-term structural integrity, your financial stability and your peace of mind. It is cheaper to deal with a water damage then a mold remediation financially.

Immediate vs long term damage

Any builder will tell you that water is one of the worst things that can happen to the interior of a building. It can cause problems that plague a building for the rest of its projected usefulness. Those problems can include deterioration of interior walls, buckling and warping of wood floors and panels, destruction of carpets, paint and damage to electrical outlets and wiring. Of course it doesn’t stop there. Over time, moisture can decompose particle board and plywood. In other words, floors and countertops. It can rust pipes, conduit and metal fasteners. It can also give rise to vapors that cause even more problems.

Hidden damage

Water vapor has been the cause of untold structural damage, medical problems, and in some cases, lawsuits when building owners are responsible for the health of others. Water vapor causes an overall moist atmosphere that can both rot wood and create a toxic mold. Black mold, as it is known, can make children and the elderly sick, and is not easy to kill once it gets started. Wet, rotted wood gives food and shelter to several common home pests like termites and ants. The rotted wood itself can be a danger to the structural integrity of a building. Water damage can have also have an erosive effect on foundations whether from a onetime deluge or exposure over time.

What to expect from a professional

Water damage specialists can find the affected areas, bring the right tools and use the right methods to clean up. Some damaged materials can be dried out and saved if caught in time. Other items need to be thrown out. It often takes someone with experience to know what is reusable when it comes to building materials and appliances. With many financial issues regarding insurance, loan companies and real estate laws, it may be required to get work done by a water damage contractor to avoid paying out of pocket, insure repairs or even sell your property.

If you’ve had water damage, you can’t afford to take chances with your family or fortune. Call for an inspection. As with any repair, the first steps involve finding out the scope of the problem. Once you know, you’ll be able to make a more informed decision. For expertise, financial stability, and getting the job done right, hire a water damage specialist.