Removing Flood Damage in Ortega

2/28/2018 (Permalink)

Floodwater is usually categorized as black water, being very contaminated and dangerous.

SERVPRO Categorizes Water in Your Home into Three Categories

Removing water from Ortega homes is, for the most part, a matter of time and having the right equipment at hand. If the water contains soil, sewage, or other debris, it is contaminated and can be both a greater expense and physical threat to the residents.

SERVPRO inspects and divides the water from Ortega flood damage into three types: Clean, Gray, and Black. Clean water is the simplest to remove, but the other two have specific requirements which may require specific precautions, tools, and protective gear.

Clean Water poses no real risk to personal health. Our response teams do not need any protective gear other than rubber boots to avoid getting their feet wet. To prevent mold or other contamination from forming in the water and turning it gray, we quickly remove it from each home.

Teams can do this by setting up pumps to drain the majority of the water and then switch to extraction wands to remove surface moisture and draw remaining water out of carpets and floorboards. Removing it quickly also lowers the risk of damage to drywall and other building materials. If the air is very humid, we can establish dehumidifiers to bring it down to normal levels.

Gray Water contains very low levels of contamination. Common sources are bathroom water, urine, and water from aquariums. These contaminants also cause bacteria to form and grow across the surface of the water quickly. Eventually, the bacteria grows large enough to become airborne and spread to uncontaminated areas of the home. Before starting any removal work, SERVPRO technicians spray the water and any nearby surfaces with an anti-fungal agent to kill any active mold spores.

Black Water is heavily contaminated. Much of the stormwater that gets inside a home contains a little bit of everything that it moved over before stopping. That means raw sewage and even animal carcasses depending on the severity of the flood. Water from a nearby hospital may also contain traces of medical waste.

To stop the threat of health effects, technicians put on protective gear to include masks and spray an anti-fungal agent over everything that they may touch. We pump the contaminated water into a tank truck for transportation to a water treatment plant for disposal.

Rain is in the near forecast, so if you are dealing with previous flood damage, now is the time to contact SERVPRO of Stockton. Call us at (209) 477-3090 today with any questions or to schedule a team visit.

For map of the Ortega area click here.