Water Damage in Your Wichita Home? Four Reasons to Act NOW!

If you’re like a whole lot of people in the world, stressful situations like a water leak, flood, or evidence of water damage can make you feel like freezing in place. Some people ignore the problem, hoping the water will dry up and the problem will go away. Others wait until the damage has spread to call for help. However, there is a good chance your homeowner’s insurance will cover the repairs – and using a reputable company like Stover’s Restoration will give you peace of mind that the problem is fixed the right way, the first time.

Here are some things you might not know about water damage, but knowing them might make you change your mind about calling in professional help.

1. Water can seep deep into wall cavities and create pockets of saturation.

2. Those pockets could remain unseen for a long time. However, just because you don’t see visible evidence of water damage, know that damage is likely being done to drywall, wood, or whatever other substance it might be sitting on.

3. Just because the cause of the water damage is stopped, such as re-caulking the door wall we mentioned above, doesn’t mean there hasn’t been water penetrating at that spot for a while and other damage could be lurking within the wall.

4. Mold growth happens quickly when building materials are exposed to moisture. Some experts say it happens in as little as 24 to 48 hours. If not properly treated, the mold could spread.

The good news: water damage is not permanent! Once Stover’s Restoration finds the source of the problem, it can be stopped in its tracks and the process of removing or restoring water damaged materials can begin. Plus, if we do find mold, we won’t just kill it – we will remove it. “Killing” mold is no longer good enough – the mold could still come back!

Restorers use some special tools to detect where water damage might be in your home or business, before doing demolition on any walls, whenever possible. The main tool for this is a thermal imaging/infrared camera. While it won’t tell the technician in your home that there is specifically moisture hiding behind that wall in your bathroom, it will indicate a temperature difference that could mean there is water back there.

You can also expect to see large fans, air movers, dehumidifiers, and other equipment throughout the wet areas to dry them quickly and efficiently. At the beginning of the drying process, and again at the end, technicians will use moisture meters to take measurements in different materials to determine moisture levels. These readings help the team know when the drying process is complete.

While some water damage is more severe than others, it’s important to have it addressed in a timely fashion no matter what. The problem you see could just be the tip of the iceberg and the longer you let it go, the worse it could get and the more costly the repair could become.