Water flooding can occur for various reasons. The most common is pipes bursting and filling the basement, especially during a rainy or stormy night. While this can be an unpleasant experience, especially if you have guests coming in, fixing the damage is even more unpleasant.
If a flood makes its way into your house, you must attend to the damage caused immediately. You might need to contact a good water damage restoration service for this. However, the question is, can you fix damage caused by water due to flooding?
Can Water Damage Be Fixed?
If water enters your house due to flooding, and there is significant damage done due to the water, you needn’t worry and be rest assured that you can fix it. Some companies have the required experience and expertise to repair damage caused to houses and other buildings due to flooding.
These companies use state-of-the-art equipment to remove the water and reverse the damage done.
How to Get Rid of Water Damage?
Different water damage restoration companies follow different methods to remove the water that has entered your house due to floods. However, generally speaking, the water damage reversal or repair process entails the following steps:
- Cleaning
- Scraping and Flaking
- Covering the Area with a Peel-Stop
- Applying the Filler
- Sanding the Surface
- Applying Paint
Cleaning
The first step that professional water damage repair services take for such a project is cleaning the area. For this, they may use an appropriate soap or cleansing agent. After applying the soap or cleansing agent, they wipe the surface with a clean and damp cloth and let it dry.
Scraping and Flaking
After allowing the surface to dry, the water damage repair professionals peel off parts of the surface that may be bubbling. For this, they may use a scraper or other such tool. Once they remove the bubbling, they then smoothen it out using the same device.
Covering with a Peel-Stop
The experts then cover the affected area with a water-based peel-stop. A peel-stop or sealer-binder is like a glue that prevents water from entering back into the surface. That is, the peel-stop solidifies the area and ensures that there is no further damage due to the water seeping back through it.
After applying the peel-stop, the professionals leave it for an hour to let the surface dry.
Applying the Filler
Now that the surface is dry and solid, the experts apply the filler so that it becomes smooth. Once applying the filler is complete, they give it at least one day to dry before sanding. While the experts may use a hairdryer or quick-drying material to speed up the process, it’s better to leave the surface to dry naturally. So, they leave it for at least a day or so after applying the filler.
Sanding the Surface
After the filler has dried completely, the water damage repair professionals sand the surface using a suitable material to make it smooth and ready for painting.
Applying Primer
So, now that the filler has dried and sanded, it is time to paint it. For this, the professionals first get the surface ready by applying a water-based primer. Water-based primers generally find uses in gyprock surfaces. However, you can as well use them for interior surfaces.
Applying Paint
As a final stage, the experts will paint the surface. The affected area is now clean and safe from any further damages. So, the water damage repair professionals start painting it. Here, they may use water-based enamels and combine them with gloss to give the surface a good look.
Conclusion
You can fix damage caused to your house due to flooding by contacting a good water damage repair service. Different water damage repair professionals follow different methods to reverse the damage caused by flooding in homes or other such buildings. However, in general, they follow these steps:
- Cleaning the Surface
- Scraping and Flaking
- Covering the Surface with a Peel-Stop
- Applying Applying
- Sanding the Surface
- Applying the Primer
- Painting the Surface
The following table summarizes the steps that professional water damage repair services follow to restore your house or building to the way it was before the flooding occurred.
Sl. No. | Stages Involved in the Process | Description |
---|---|---|
1 | Cleaning the Surface | The experts clean the affected surface using a suitable cleansing agent in this step. |
2 | Scraping and Flaking the Surface | Here, the water damage repair professionals peel off the bubbling parts of the surface. |
3 | Covering the Surface with a Peel-Stop | In this step, the experts use a peel-stop on the affected surface, like a glue that stops water from seeping back through it. |
4 | Applying the Filler | After the surface dries, the experts apply the filler and let it settle for a day. |
5 | Sanding the Surface | Once the filler dries, the water damage repair professionals sand the surface using suitable materials. |
6 | Applying the Primer | After sanding the surface, the experts apply the primer before painting the surface. |
7 | Painting the Surface | The last step involves painting the surface with a color of your choice. |