Steps To Water Damage Restoration For Unfinished Basements

A water-damaged basement isn't all that uncommon, but it can be a very stressful situation for a homeowner. Fortunately for you, water damage restoration companies specialize in taking care of flooded and otherwise water-damaged situations like this.

Here are some of the steps your water damage remediation professionals may take when restoring a water-damaged basement.

1. Removing standing water

Cleaning up any standing water is a necessary prerequisite for any other cleaning efforts. So before they can move on to drying out and disinfecting the area, your contractors will have to drain, mop, or otherwise remove any standing water in the area. In some cases, this could require finding and stopping a source of the water that is getting into your basement.

Before dealing with standing water, your contractors will likely need to turn off your home's electricity in order to avoid electrical hazards, since standing water can conduct electricity very effectively.

2. Assessing damaged materials

Once any standing water is out of the way, your damage restoration contractors can check the floor, wall, and rafters of your basement to see what types of damage are present. For instance, any waterlogged wood supports could be warped and start to rot or develop mold.

In some cases, mold could develop in the area even on materials that aren't directly in contact with the water, since the entire area can become damp and mold loves to grow in damp environments. Water can also wick upwards to affect materials that weren't underwater during the flood. Mold cleanup can actually be a fairly common part of water damage remediation.

3. Repairing or replacing damaged materials

In some cases, drying the materials thoroughly can help them get back into usable condition. In other cases, some construction work will be needed. Your water damage restoration contractors can remove and replace damaged materials to get your basement looking good as new again.

4. Disinfecting and cleaning the area

This step goes along with the previous one. Any materials that aren't going to be replaced will need to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Some bacteria that can live in floodwaters may leave behind toxins even after they're gone, so just disinfecting by itself isn't sufficient.

These steps can get your water-damaged basement back to its usual self. You can also talk to your water damage restoration company about how to help your basement stay strong against water intrusion next time. They can provide insight into why the flooding occurred and may have advice to help you keep your basement safe from further flooding. 

 Get in contact with a water damage restoration company, such as Great Lakes Abatement Co., Inc, to learn more about the water damage cleanup process.