Hot Water Heater Leak

Three days after Christmas, we were called to an apartment quadplex in Wapak, Ohio. A water heater leaked in one of the units, and the water also affected a second unit by seeping under the wall that separated the units from each other. Since drying out water damage situations is our specialty, we went right to work!

Water Extraction

After our team’s initial inspection, we extracted all of the standing water from both units. It’s important to get all excess water off the floor in order to begin the dryout process. Our extractor sucks up most of the water standing on top of the laminate floors, and it removes a lot of the water saturating the carpets.

We removed the laminate flooring since the water had seeped beneath it. The water was actually trapped below the laminate floor, unable to dry out. By this point, the water has damaged the flooring material, and it is unable to be dried out effectively. That’s why we removed the flooring and began drying out the subfloor.

The carpet in the living room was not removed, because our high-speed fans were able to dry out the remaining moisture within the carpet. In this situation, only part of the carpet was saturated, which meant it wouldn’t take long to dry it out.

Dryout Phase

Our team setup multiple fans and a dehumidifier in each unit to pull all of the remaining moisture out of the air, floors, and walls. The fans and “dehu’s” work in combination with each other to move the dry air to the moist materials. Because water always moves toward dry areas, the moisture moves out of the carpet, floorboards, and wall structures and into the surrounding air. The dehumidifiers pull that moisture out of the air, which allows everything to continue to dry out quickly.

Monitor the Progress

Over the next few days our team monitored the dryout process. Because the walls were still showing wet with the moisture meter, they removed the baseboard and drilled holes in the bottom of the walls. This method allows the air to move through those holes and behind the wall to speed up the process. At the end of the job, when everything is completely dried out, we are able to put the baseboard back on the bottom of the walls, covering over those holes.

Only when it is completely unavoidable do we drill a hole above where the baseboard would cover it. We do not create extra damage just for the sake of drilling holes. Our goal is to dryout the home as quickly as possible, and to minimize the need for repairs when possible.

Our team monitored the dryout progress multiple times, until everything was completely dry by Day 6. At this point, all equipment was pulled, and we were able to let the apartment owner take over for the repairs needed.

When the customer desires, we can make the necessary repairs and restoration after the dryout is complete. Yet when the customer is equipped and willing to do the repairs themselves, we will give them our expert pointers before walking away from the job. We Care that you are able to make the proper repairs once we are finished drying out your property. Just because you choose not to hire our restoration team, we still care that it gets done correctly. Ask your questions, and we will help out with what we have learned from our 36 years in business.

Property Owners and Managers

Are you an apartment owner in Wapak, Ohio or the surrounding area? Are you a property manager for one or more tenants?

Give us a call when you experience water damage in one of your rentals. Our team will respond quickly to help you Dryout, Cleanup and Rebuild to get your tenants back to normal.

419-331-1024