Emergency Water Extraction Services
A water emergency can damage the floors, walls, foundation and contents of your home. Our water extraction services can reduce drying time and help prevent mold growth in your home.
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Trusted Water Extraction Specialists
From a small pipe leak to catastrophic flooding, water can damage the foundation, floors, and walls of your home, not to mention the belongings inside. And mold growth can begin in a couple days.
There’s not in a minute to lose. Quick response is needed to keep a bad, potentially hazardous situation from getting worse. At SERVPRO, water extraction (also known as water removal) is a key part of our water damage restoration process. We're a one-stop shop, using powerful pumps and truck-mounted vacuum units to quickly remove hundreds or thousands of gallons of water. This reduces drying time and can help prevent mold growth and secondary damage to your home.
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Why Water Extraction?
Prevent Mold Growth
Mold can start growing in just 24 to 48 hours. Once that growth begins, spores can spread quickly, leading to health risks and expensive cleanup and restoration.
Minimize Structural Damage
Standing water can weaken the structural integrity of your home or business. This can make your floors, walls, and ceilings warp, deteriorate, and even collapse. Structural repairs can be extremely expensive and disruptive.
Preserve Your Belongings
After a water-related event, your furniture, electronics, valuables, and important papers can be damaged or ruined. It’s important to get the contents of your home out of harm’s way.
Water Damage: What You Can Do Right Now
Water damage can create serious health and safety risks. Be sure to protect yourself, your family, and your pets until professional help arrives. By taking the right immediate steps and avoiding common mistakes, you can help minimize damage and speed up recovery.
- Shut off the water source if possible; turn off circuit breakers for wet areas.
- Remove as much excess water as you can through mopping and blotting.
- Place aluminum foil or wood blocks between furniture legs and wet carpeting.
- Move paintings, art, computers, documents and other valuables to a dry place.
Need Help with a Commercial Property?
When your business suffers water damage, SERVPRO is ready. Our experienced team is ready to dry and restore your facility, keeping downtime to a minimum. Learn more about our Commercial Water Damage Restoration.
Our Expert Restoration Process
The moment you call, our team moves quickly to protect your property and begin recovery. We follow a proven, step-by-step process to return your home to its pre-loss condition.
Assess
We inspect, document, and plan your restoration.
Mitigate
We act fast to stop damage and protect what matters most.
Restore
We rebuild and restore your space to pre-loss condition.
SERVPRO Helps with the Insurance Claim Process
At SERVPRO, we understand that property damage can be overwhelming. With decades of experience, SERVPRO can help document damage and provide information related to the services performed that can assist customers during the insurance claim process.
When property damage occurs, a rapid response can help limit further damage and may reduce overall restoration costs.
Groundwater flooding is usually covered by flood insurance, not a standard homeowners policy.
What equipment does SERVPRO use for water extraction?
When it comes to water extraction, SERVPRO technicians have both the very latest and the tried-and-true at their disposal:
- Moisture detectors, hygrometers, and other meters measure the extent of moisture saturation.
- Infrared cameras find “hidden” water behind walls and ceilings.
- Submersible and gas-powered pumps are used for continuous pumping of high-level water.
- Truck-mounted and portable extraction units perform efficient water removal.
What’s a sump pump and what does it do?
A sump pump is a mechanical pump, often placed in a basement or crawlspace, to remove water as it accumulates in a sump pit. As the water level rises, it trips a float switch, turns on the pump, and sends the excess water away from the structure. Sump pumps help keep your basement dry and protect your home from water damage.
How long does water extraction take?
In most residential cases, water extraction takes one to three days. It depends on factors such as:
- The water source
- The amount of water
- How much of the home is affected
- Affected materials in the home like carpet, furniture, and drywall
Is water damage dangerous?
Water damage can be a serious situation. Water flowing through your home or business can carry with it any contaminates that it has come into contact with. Electrical hazards are common when water damage has occurred, so do not enter the area until it’s deemed safe.
Flood waters or contaminated water can also be a danger to anyone who comes into contact with it. It can be difficult to pinpoint what the water contains, and could have chemicals, dirt or bacteria within it. Additionally, depending on the severity of the water event, structural damage to the property could occur. Water damage may also make the area ripe for mold and mildew, which presents a danger to any occupants, as well.
Is my insurance going to cover this water damage to my home?
Many homeowner insurance policies do provide some level of coverage in a water damage situation, but you will need to contact your agent for details about your policy. The source of the water damage is important when dealing with insurance. Some flooding related to weather events requires special insurance that is gained through the National Flood Insurance Program. We make insurance claims easier, with fewer headaches for you. We handle the details and coordinate any paperwork, so you can focus on moving forward.
Many of the personal items were damaged by water. Can SERVPRO help?
When water damage occurs, it’s not just the structure of your home that’s affected, but your personal belongings, too. Your family furniture, clothing, keepsakes, and other items are sometimes damaged during a flood or water damage emergency.
SERVPRO specializes in restoring these special items with our Packout & Contents Restoration services, as many cannot be replaced. We’ll assess your content to determine what items can be successfully restored. We can use several different methods to accomplish this:
Dry cleaning – Used for light residue or to pre-clean prior to wet cleaning.
Wet cleaning – Effective at removing moderate to heavy soiling.
Spray and wipe – For items that can’t withstand wet cleaning.
Foam cleaning – Used for upholstery fabrics that might shrink or bleed if wet cleaned.
Abrasive cleaning – Involves agitation of the surface being cleaned.
Immersion cleaning – The item is dipped into a cleaning product bath.
Additionally, we have document restoration services that may be able to save your valuable documents, including photographs.
Is it safe to stay in a flooded home?
It may not be safe to stay in a flooded home or business. If you come into contact with or ingest flood water, it can make you sick if the water is contaminated. Standing water inside a structure that was inhabited also poses an electrocution risk, as appliances and electrical outlets can continue to be live and energized.
How long after water damage does mold grow?
Mildew and mold are likely to begin growing within a day or two after a water damage occurs. Mold can develop very quickly, within 24-48 hours, and will continue to grow until its access to a source of water is removed. This is why it’s incredibly important to act quickly when water damage occurs to your property. Waiting too long to fix the damage could result in more problems, like mold.
What health problems can mold cause?
Mold can produce allergens, irritants or other health effects that could affect some people. According to the CDC, there are very few reports that toxigenic molds (those that produce mycotoxins) cause severe issues, and the link has not yet been proven. However, in 2004 the Institute of Medicine found there was sufficient evidence to link indoor exposure to mold with upper respiratory tract symptom, cough, and wheezing in otherwise healthy people.
It is best to be cautious around any mold, limit your exposure, and contact a professional who is trained in mold remediation to handle the situation for you.