Water Damage Restoration

 

Water damage is one of the most challenging issues that a property owner can face because of different factors. First, they can cause severe damage to one’s establishment and belongings when left unresolved. Second, it can cause the growth of mold that can severely affect your property’s indoor air quality and can even be detrimental to you and your tenants’ health. Finally, it significantly brings the value of your property down that can be a problem if you’re planning to resell it soon.

But don’t worry, it’s not something that can’t be resolved. If you’ve found yourself asking “Can you fix water damage on wood?” after discovering a severe case developing in your property, then you’re in the right place. In this article, we are going to talk all about water damage, focusing on how to deal with water damaged wood and more. Let’s get started.

WHAT IS WATER DAMAGE?

In a nutshell, it is the type of damage done on a structure and the belongings within due to excessive moisture and collected water. This usually happens in least-visited spaces of the establishment where water can collect without notice. They are also usually the lowest depths of one’s property like crawl spaces and basements.

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IS WOOD RUINED IF IT GETS WET?

Now, wood is usually treated to withstand the elements, especially if it’s going to be used in construction, however, since it is still a natural material, it can still break down and rot when exposed to moisture for an extended period of time.

WHAT DOES WATER DAMAGED WOOD LOOK LIKE?

Surprisingly, though, water damage and termite damage may seem very similar at first. However, there are tell-tale signs that differentiate them from each other. For instance, water damaged wood break down into cube-sized chunks while termite damaged wood develops tunnels due to termites munching on the softer grain first.

THE EFFECTS OF WATER DAMAGE ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF WOOD

Expanding on that, various types of wood react differently to water damage. For instance, hardwood floor water damage looks different from plywood and particleboard. Due to the limited space in this guide, we’ll only be talking about these three most common types of wood.

HARDWOOD

Water damage on the hardwood will show through staining and discoloration. Aside from that, it will also lift floorboards and the nails that are holding them down. You can pretty much say goodbye to your pretty flooring.

 

 PARTICLEBOARD

Another common type of wood that you might have in your establishment is particleboard. It is usually treated with a water-resistant veneer surface and is usually used as the primary material for desks and cabinets. Excessive moisture can cause your particleboard to sag, though, and weaken, causing almost permanent damage.

 

PLYWOOD

Finally, there’s plywood that is usually used for walls and furniture. What some of us don’t realize, though, is that plywood is made up of different layers of wood glued together. Hence, excessive moisture can cause these layers to warp and eventually fall apart.

 

HOW TO FIX WATER DAMAGED WOOD?

Regardless of what type of wood you have in your commercial property, though, one thing is clear. It can be damaged by water. Hence, why don’t we move on to the next part of our guide and talk about how to repair water damaged wood.

PREPARING FOR RESTORATION

The first thing that you should do is to prepare for the repair process. Do you require certain tools and materials (like auto filler putty)? Do you have the proper protective equipment? Remember, inhaling airborne contaminants caused by mold growth as a result of water damage can get you sick. Do you have the proper skill set to do the repairs yourself? Because if not, then you can always hire a commercial water damage restoration company to you out. Finally, you should remember to seal off the area that you are going to be working in to avoid cross-contaminating other areas in your commercial space.

REPAIRING WATER DAMAGE: THE EASY WAY

Once you have prepared everything you need, then you can start the repair process. The first step is to remove any rotting wood that can’t be salvaged anymore. Once you have carved out the damaged areas, you can use auto filler putty to fill them in. Just make sure that you are able to push the putty in to completely fill the hole that you have carved out. Allow the filler to dry and sand for a smoother finish. And that’s it! All that’s left for you to do now is to prime and paint the wooden surface and it will look as good as new. In fact, why not repaint the whole area to better blend your repair job to its immediate surroundings?
However, the method that we have mentioned above is a quick fix. It must be regularly checked and maintained later on to make sure that no other damage has been done. This is also not advisable for wood that plays an integral part in your property’s structure. This type of damaged should be left to the pros to handle to prevent causing more damage to the integrity of your architecture.

PREVENTING MOLD GROWTH

Speaking of maintenance, a huge chunk of that should be dedicated to preventing mold growth. Hence, here are some tips on how to do just that:

• There are different cleaning products that can efficiently deal with different types of mold. Make sure that you are also able to spot the main culprit behind the water damage in the first place. Is it a leaky pipe? Is there a hole somewhere that lets the rain in? Deal with it immediately.
• The way to handle mold removal is to prevent mold growth in the first place. Hence, make sure to dry the area completely. Install dehumidifiersas well, in order to control the moisture within that room.
• Remove any items or furniture that are still wet to dry outside. Discard any items that are too damaged to save properly to prevent cross-contamination. This will also prevent them from affecting the indoor air quality of your establishment.
• Finally, while you’re outside, go ahead and check if there’s water collecting in the ground. They can easily seep into the interiors of your property and cause more damage.

REPLACE DAMAGED WOOD

There are different ways on how to remove moisture from the wood. In fact, if you’re wondering about how to get water stains out of wood, then you’ll be pleased to learn that you can even remove them by using an iron, or by spreading mayonnaise on the problem area! Yes, you’ve read that right. Mayo. However, if you think that the damage is simply too severe, then there’s nothing else to do than to replace the damaged wood, especially if you’re going to be sacrificing your tenants’ safety if you push through with “salvaging” it. It’s simply not worth it.

HOW TO FIX WATER DAMAGED SWOLLEN WOOD FURNITURE

Do you have a wood table that has become swollen due to excessive moisture? Do you have other water damaged furniture? Then let it completely dry first. Proceed on cleaning the mold out that piece with bleach or your preferred mold-cleaning solution. Once you’re done cleaning, cut away and replace severely damaged parts if necessary. If not, then you can move on to sand the piece to restore it to its originally smooth surface. Finally, it would be up to you to decide how you’re going to finish your repair work. Are you going to cure the wood? Add a new finish? Repaint it? It’s up to you.

HOW TO FIX A WATER DAMAGED WOODEN FLOOR

The method that you are going to take on how to minimize water damage to the wood floor will greatly depend on a number of different factors. What type of wood has been used on your flooring? How long did it take for you to notice the damage? How severe is it? You see, it is sometimes cheaper to get the damaged flooring replaced instead of trying to save it. And since it is a crucial part of your property, we sincerely recommend having it checked by a professional mold remediation team instead. Having the pros take over is still the way to deal with wood floor water damage.

Water Damage Restoration RESTORATION EQUIPMENT FOR DRYING WATER DAMAGED WOOD

We do understand why you’d want to handle most of the restorations yourself, though. After all, you own the property in question. Hence, if you really want to deal with the issue yourself, then there is some water damage restoration equipment that we believe will greatly benefit you:

AIR MOVERS

As the name suggests, it is an equipment used to move air, but in its process, it actually s dry water-damaged flooring and surfaces by forcing moisture to evaporate more quickly.

DEHUMIDIFIERS

Another piece of equipment that can in water damage restoration is the dehumidifier since it is specifically designed to deal with excessive moisture. Aside from that, it can also maintain the humidity of an area to a set level.

AIR SCRUBBERS

You would probably have to deal with airborne contaminants as well, especially if you can smell the musk of mold in the air. You will need an air scrubber for that which filters out any particles in your indoor air.

RESTORATION MOISTURE METERS

Finally, you will need a restoration moisture meter. It is a device that gauges the severity of water damage on a surface or an area by assessing the moisture present. It is a must for you to have if you’re planning to do all the restoration on your own.

CONCLUSION

And that’s it! We hope that you have found our guide ful in your current predicament. Don’t worry, by keeping the tips we have shared with you above in mind, we’re sure that your commercial property will be able to pull through water damage in no time. Good luck!

The entire world is currently battling a global pandemic, and while it is mostly down to the individual to protect himself by practicing social distancing and following quarantine procedures, we, as employers have a bigger responsibility in ensuring that our workspace remains safe amidst the crisis. Hence, in this article, we are going to share with you ways of preventing illness in the workplace, how to prevent infectious diseases, as well as other tips on proper infectious disease control.

WHAT IS INFECTIOUS DISEASE CONTROL?

Before we move on further in the article, it’s important to get a good grasp of the subject of discussion first. What is infectious disease control, anyway? According to the World Health Organization, infection prevention and control, also known as IPC, is a method of cleaning and minimizing the spread of contagious disease.

Two troubling examples of infectious diseases are influenza (that has caused the death of millions in the 1900s) and the novel coronavirus that’s ravaging the world right now.

You might be wondering, though, how is infection spread? In fact, there are different ways of how this can happen. That depends on the germs that are causing the infection. However, a very common way for a contagious disease to spread, especially one that’s caused by a virus, is by cross-contamination through expelled bodily fluids such as the respiratory droplets we release when we cough or sneeze.

WHY IS INFECTION CONTROL SO IMPORTANT IN THE WORKPLACE?

You can see now how fast an infection can spread especially in crowded places like a busy office space. This is the reason why infection control is critical. It will keep your workspace a safe and healthy place to work in.

Aside from that, it can also cost you a lot in terms of lower productivity levels and job satisfaction of your employees. Just imagine what an all-out infection can do to your employees and how it can damage your ROI if everyone got sick?

INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL

Fortunately for us, there are various infection control measures that can get rid of the lurking germs in the workplace. Allow us to share with you our tips, neatly divided into three categories.

INFECTION CONTROL PLAN

With an infection already happening outside, here are some workplace infection control procedures:

• Plan Accordingly. The first thing that you should do is to come up with an infection control plan. Involve your management team since they’ll be the ones working more closely with your employees and enforce your established workplace policies and procedures for infection control.
• Remove Common-Use Items. In relation to the previous tip, an infection can also spread by touching items that have been contaminated by other people. Hence, remove common-use items such as magazines and pens from your common rooms.
• Encourage Basic Etiquette. Another way of preventing the spread of infection is to encourage your employees to practice the basic etiquette of covering their mouths when they cough or sneeze by providing boxes of tissues and disinfectant wipes especially in common rooms where they interact with more people. At the same time, discourage them from sharing personal items like cups, glasses, and cutleries where they can easily transfer their respiratory droplets to other people.
• Basic Sanitation. The way to prevent the spread of infection is to provide ways for your employees to rid themselves of germs by putting up clean handwashing facilities and sanitation stations equipped with alcohol or alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

• Basic Health Checks. Everyone must have their temperature checked before entering your facility. Anyone who is not feeling well, or doesn’t look well should be immediately sent home or to a health care facility depending on his state. Plus points if you can provide your employees with vitamin supplements as well in order to strengthen their immune system.
• Work Remotely. But, in the end, the most effective way to control the spread of infectious disease is to still let them all go home and simply let them work from there. If you really must require the attendance of a skeletal workforce to continue operations, then at least provide them with a mode of transportation instead of forcing them to take public transit where they’ll be exposed to other people that might be infected already.

FACILITY CLEANING AND DISINFECTION

Now that your employees are working from home, this gives you the opportunity to clean your work facility and disinfect it so that it’s clean and ready to receive your employees once regular operations resume. There are two ways to go about this:

• Handle it yourself. First, you can let your existing maintenance staff perform the virus cleaning given that you’ll provide them with the necessary personal protective equipment and tools. You should focus on cleaning surfaces that have been the most exposed to contamination such as doorknobs, stair railings, elevator buttons, and the like.
• Seek professional . Or second, you can seek the of professional cleaning services equipped with handling infectious disease control instead. This is honestly what we recommend, especially for workplaces like hospitals and health care facilities that are significantly more exposed to diseases, contagious or not.

EFFECTIVE VENTILATION SYSTEM AND AIR QUALITY

Finally, remember that some germs are airborne and they can survive being suspended in your facility for an extended time if you have poor indoor air quality and improper ventilation.

This is the perfect time to check if your ventilation systems work properly, as well as install equipment like air movers and air scrubbers to rid your indoor air from contaminants. Better yet, schedule your ventilation checks and indoor air cleaning procedures regularly not just during a pandemic or epidemic, but as part of your regular maintenance routine. In this way, you can prevent other indoor air pollutants from causing your employees other health problems as well.

By keeping the tips we have shared with you in mind, we are confident that you will be able to keep your employees safe from the novel coronavirus and other infectious diseases that we may encounter in the future. Stay healthy and keep safe!