When a house or commercial building is inundated with water from a fire sprinkler system, fire hoses, or even a burst water main, the key to minimizing the damage is to get the structure dried out again as fast as possible. Unfortunately, simply opening the doors and windows is rarely enough to accomplish the quick drying that is required. Therefore, it’s important to hire professionals like Flood Masters to bring in the equipment that can do the job.
Quick drying prevents water damage in Oklahoma City from getting worse in a couple of major ways. First, drying out the structure helps to prevent important support elements from being weakened, warping, or otherwise failing. Second, it helps to prevent the growth of mold. Mold requires high humidity in order to get started, but once it has taken hold, it will persist even after the structure has dried out. Therefore, drying the building before the mold gets growing is very important.
Along with these major benefits, there are many other benefits that can add up to big savings at the damage restoration phase. Tiles, for example, often start to pop up from the floor if they are left wet long enough to break the adhesive bond between themselves and the sub flooring. The paint on walls can start to peel, and the finish on other surfaces will be damaged by prolonged wetness. All of these things are types of water damage in Oklahoma City, and all of them get worse the longer the surfaces stay wet.
Once the drying is done, there will likely be some things that need to be fixed even if all of the standing water and excess humidity are dealt with quickly. Paint and other finishes are especially susceptible to water damage, and so is drywall. Therefore, you’ll likely need to have new drywall put in and need repainting or restaining of other surfaces. Tile floors, however, will usually remain intact if you’re quick enough with the drying phase. Joists and other structural elements can often be saved by a quick response as well. Therefore, the first thing you should do after the source of floodwater is shut off is call a water removal specialist
