Hide and Seek is not a fun game to lose with water!

11/14/2019 (Permalink)

Thermal Image of water damage behind drywall.

Where can water hide?

As the largest water damage mitigation contractor in our area, SERVPRO of Dubuque fields a lot of calls from people looking for help with water damaged homes.  People often want to save money and shop vac up the water and set a couple fans, wondering if that will be adequate.

Surface water can be extracted and dried with some air movement and the use of a residential dehumidifier.  When water has soaked into a material, the situation changes.

Bound or hidden water is one of the causes of hidden mold growth.  If an area has gotten wet and that area is not easily visible or easily accessible for standard drying methods, mold growth can begin within a few days.

SERVPRO's highly trained technicians are equipped with some of the most advanced tools on the market to test and analyze the environment for humidity and moisture. 

Hygrometers are used to measure the atmospheric conditions related to humidity or the amount of water vapor in the air.

Thermal Imaging Cameras are used to scan for differential temperatures across a surface.  These differences in temperature can be an indication of moisture.  As moisture evaporates, it cools the surface of the wet material.  That cooler surface shows up as a different color on the camera.  A properly trained technician will next, always confirm or deny the presence of moisture using either a penetrating or non-penetrating moisture meter.

The thermal camera is an excellent tool to scan a very large area for tell tale signs of moisture and then keying in on those areas for further investigation.

If you have experienced a water damage and that water has affected building materials such as carpet & pad, drywall, paneling or framing, you should consider calling an expert.

If you chose to go it alone and fail to realize the extent of the water damage, your could expose your home to a very costly mold problem. 

Contact SERVPRO of Dubuque, your local fire, water and mold remediation specialists.  Let us make it "Like it never even happened."