The Mitigation Process for a Wet Crawl Space

4/21/2022 (Permalink)

Learn more about The Mitigation Process of Wet Crawl Spaces and Avoid Damage in your property.

There are many spaces in commercial buildings in West Valley City, UT, that are susceptible to excess moisture. It's easy to detect when walls or ceiling tiles are affected, but regular inspection may reveal water in the building's crawl space, too.

To avoid mold growth and other secondary damage that can occur due to a wet crawl space, SERVPRO technicians must mitigate the water damage efficiently and thoroughly.

Steps of the Mitigation Process

Find Source

One of the first things that the water damage restoration experts will do when they arrive on site is to figure out where the floodwater is coming from. There are several common ways that water can flood a crawl space:

• Extra groundwater that seeps in
• Landscape grading that slopes toward the building
• Excess water in flower beds near the foundation
• Broken pipes or sewer lines
• Poor drainage from rainwater runoff

Extract Water

Standing water continues to cause damage every minute it is present. SERVPRO technicians pump the water out of the space quickly upon arrival. Their fast action stops the seepage in its tracks, thus reducing the overall cost of repairs.

The removal of the excess water from the wet crawl space will likely reveal ruined materials that need to be torn out. Any damp insulation must be discarded. Drywall or flooring that is saturated may not be salvageable. The team removes the parts of the structure that are no longer viable.

Clean Wet Crawl Space

The source of the water gives the mitigation team some information regarding how contaminated the space is likely to be, but the pre-testing they do guides the cleanup process more reliably. It assures that they use the correct procedures and chemicals needed to fully disinfect the area and prevent additional problems from surfacing later. This commitment to excellence is why SERVPRO is a preferred vendor for many insurance providers.

Dry Area

Even after the crawl space is cleaned, it is probably still wet. Before they start rebuilding it, the technicians make sure the space is completely dry. This prevents a second claim for mold damage that results from the original covered peril.

Replace Ruined Materials

The last step of the process is replacing the parts of the structure that were too damaged to remain in the space. The restoration team adds new insulation and installs new drywall and flooring. After they are finished, it will look "Like it never even happened."

Many companies only handle mitigation of the damage done by flooding, but SERVPRO takes care of your commercial clients from assessment through restoration. After they are finished, the building is back to normal. You get one estimate for the whole job, which you can access at any time through the Claims Information Center. Any time your clients have a wet crawl space in the building, they can depend on SERVPRO to get the job done well.

No matter how large an area is affected, these technicians are Faster to Any Size Disaster. Speedy and thorough service from mitigation to restoration is just one of the reasons many companies that insure commercial properties list SERVPRO as a preferred vendor.