Key Factors to Consider
Whatever type of disaster hits your building, whether it’s flooding or a fire, you likely have a lot on your mind. Restoration is a challenging process, both for a building and its content. When it comes to a successful restoration job, though, a few key factors come into play.
Time
Just like in every emergency, time is of the essence. It’s vital that you contact a content restoration company like us as soon as possible, or the damage sustained to your content can worsen.
The longer your content is damaged, or in the affected area, the more complex the restoration process will be. This is especially true with water damage as the water may not be clean and contain toxic chemicals that make restoration hazardous and particularly challenging.
Type of Water Damage
If you didn’t already know, there are different types of water damage. Each type gets increasingly difficult to clean and makes restoring content more challenging. The easiest type of water damage to restore your content from is clean water. This means the water was from a clean source when it came into contact with your items.
If you have gray or black water damage, restoring content becomes much more difficult. It can still be possible, but this is when time is especially critical. The longer your content is exposed to hazardous water, the more challenging or dangerous the restoration job will be.
Amount of Water Damage
Obviously, content that has sustained less water damage will be easier to restore as it is closer to its original state. Items that have a lot of water damage, whether it’s clean or black water, will be more challenging to restore. The longer your items are left in the damaged area, the more damage they will sustain as they are continuously exposed to the problem.
Type of Damaged Content
Some items are simply easier to restore than others, which will impact how successful the restoration process is. Porous materials such as wood, fabrics, and paper are much more difficult to restore than non-porous items such as porcelain, aluminum, or glass.
Anything that may allow for mold growth also presents a challenge. If there is a high risk of mold growth within the item, it may make the items unsalvageable even with restoration methods. Even with professional restoration processes, some items simply cannot be restored after a certain amount of time due to moisture exposure and increased mold risk.
In some cases, items may be worth less than the cost to restore them. For items that hold no particular monetary or sentimental value, it’s often worth simply replacing them instead of paying for them to be restored. Of course, if the item holds sentimental value or costs more than the price to restore it, then restoration is a worthwhile investment.
Electronic items have additional complications. If they were not fully submerged or not exposed to the water for very long, they can be restored. Some electronic items are waterproof up to a certain amount of time or depth, but this may not always be enough, which is why it’s crucial to take care of them as quickly as possible.
Conclusion
Content restoration after a flood is possible, as long as you act quickly and contact a professional team like us as soon as you can. Knowing what type of water damage and the amount of damage sustained to your content will help our restoration team provide a more accurate report on how possible restoration is, but it’s not necessary. As long as you act quickly, the odds are in your favor.