• Rain occurred Wednesday, July 12, all day.
• Stanley Steemer worked through the night Wednesday with mitigation crews.
• Shipments of additional drying equipment began arriving Thursday morning to meet the demand.
• Stanley Steemer mitigated the damages in over 55 properties in the first four days after the rain, running full crews both Saturday and Sunday.
• Stanley Steemer accomplished all of this with our own experienced staff. No unexperienced temps were used.

Throughout Wednesday night and into Thursday, Stanley Steemer received numerous calls from homeowners with flooded basements and crews were dispatched Thursday morning to begin mitigating those damages.

During the first three days after the floods, the mitigation procedure was common with most properties. All carpeting saturated with the ground water needed to be lifted so that the padding could be removed, bagged, and disposed of. A biocide was then applied to the floor and the carpet to kill any microbial growth from the ground water.

The carpet was then laid back in place and dehumidifiers and air movers were installed. All wet contents were also placed in the affected rooms to dry them in place. Once the rooms were dry, typically within
three days, the equipment was removed and a time was scheduled to have new padding installed and to have the carpets cleaned.

Sheetrock and paneled walls were also dried in this process as the air movers evaporate the moisture from the carpet and walls into the air which is then removed by the dehumidifiers.

Important Points: If a property owner attempts to dry out a structure on their own, keep in mind that rented extractors are not likely to remove moisture from the padding, which will lead to mold after three days. The padding should always be removed and disposed of. Additionally, since ground water contains many contaminants, leaving the pad in place could pose serious health threats.

Attempting to dry out a saturated room with fans only is also a mistake that can lead to secondary damages. Setting up fans in a wet room will serve to evaporate the moisture into the air. Without dehumidifiers, the relative humidity in the air can soar above 60%, the point at which unaffected materials such as the ceiling, walls, or contents can start absorbing the moisture and become damaged. It can also spread mold much quicker through a structure. The relative humidity must not get higher than 60%.

The big danger comes after three days
When carpets and walls are wet for over three days, especially during the warm summer months, mold can begin to grow and spread. A common misconception is that you can take care of mold simply by spraying it with bleach. While this does “inactivate” mold and prevent it from spreading, it does not remove the allergic threat posed by it. The only way to completely remediate mold is to remove it and the contents it is on. Additionally, mold grows best on the backside of drywall where property owners cannot see it until it has thoroughly spread.

To illustrate the financial problems improper handling of water damage can cause, during the recent flooding event we handled two homes on the same street, one called the night of the storm to have us dry the home, the other called five days after the storm. Both had wet finished basements. The second homeowner attempted to dry the basement on his own, and, after five days, the foul smell worsened, prompting them to call for professional help.

The result is that the first home was dried, and other than replacing the carpet padding, was restored to its pre-loss condition. The second home had widespread mold damage, requiring the removal of drywall, studs and carpet. The mitigation alone was increased by roughly $3,000 and once completed, the homeowner will need to have the studs and walls replaced and new carpeting installed.

The End Result
Although flooding is not usually covered by insurance, it is crucial that property owners still take the necessary steps to remove all moisture as soon as possible so that the cost to dry a property doesn’t turn into the cost to replace a property.