If your building is flooded, stop reading and call us!
If you’ve had previous damage from water and it’s less of an emergency, you can call us or contact us by email – click the Contact Us button right here.
If your building is flooded, stop reading and call us!
If you’ve had previous damage from water and it’s less of an emergency, you can call us or contact us by email – click the Contact Us button right here.
For home and business owners in Southeastern Wisconsin, a flood may not seem like such a severe problem. After all, it’s only water, and how much harm can water do? But flooding is one of the deadliest and most frequent natural disasters. Not only does it claim many lives annually, but it’s also responsible for vast amounts of property damage.
If your home or business gets flooded, it doesn’t just get “wet,” it costs you in many other ways. And even when the rainstorm is over and the “flash flood” ends, that doesn’t mean that the floodwater it brought with it goes away at the same time.
How Long Does Flood Water Remain?
Flooding duration varies with the specific circumstances behind a flood. A flash flood, for example, may have water recede away from a building within hours—or even minutes—of the flood occurring. On the other hand, if the flood results from a burst dam, or a rise in a river’s water levels, the flooding may remain in the building for days. However, even once the flood itself recedes, the water may remain in the building.
Basements, for example, may retain water long after the flood has emptied out of the first floor of a home or business. Therefore, if the rest of the area is still filled but not flooded with water, it may take some time before basement flood water can drain away.
The Moisture Remains
However, even when a building no longer has visible pools of water left, that doesn’t mean that the water is gone. Dampness, moisture, and pockets of water will remain in other parts of the building that may not be visible. Insulation, for example, will have to be replaced, as it has been permanently damaged by the water and will not dry out properly when it is lying between walls.
The same is true for drywall and carpets. Even though the primary flood source is gone, these items have absorbed huge amounts of water in the home. Unlike laundry, just leaving these items alone for a day or two will not dry them out; they will retain that moisture and continue to degrade as a result.
Flood restoration and repair is a highly complex and involved process. There are items in a home you may think are beyond recovery that can be saved. On the other hand, certain things you feel just need to dry out may never be the same again, even once the water is gone. There are also structural and electrical considerations to keep in mind. Just turning on the electricity once water is gone may not be as safe as you think and could further damage a property if appropriate precautions haven’t been taken beforehand.
If your home or business has been damaged by flooding, we can help. Emergency Restoration Specialists have over 30 years of experience serving the Milwaukee area with flood repair and restoration. Contact us for a prompt, professional response.
