The Damage Caused By Flood

9/23/2016 (Permalink)

Flooding can cause severe damage to your property.

Flood Damage To Your Property

When your home has been flooded, whether by a malfunctioning appliance or a natural disaster, you will need to move fast to prevent any further damage to your furnishings. Moisture, as you can imagine, can have huge effects on your upholstery and other furniture, especially anything wooden. Although you will need professionals such as SERVPRO to help you clean it up and salvage anything you can, it is good for you to understand what the water can do to your possessions and what you can do right away to help prevent additional damage.

Upholstery
When you’ve experienced flood damage in New Milford, any upholstery that is in your home can experience several problems:

Swelling – Since the framing of furniture is usually wood, this means it is subject to swelling and cracking. The framing joints will weaken because of this, plus, water could make any glues break down, which will cause damage to the furniture.

Color Bleeding – When wet, dust covers have a good chance of bleeding, and if the cover sags it can stain flooring and carpeting. The metal backing on the buttons of the upholstery can also rust, causing additional staining.

Water Spotting – If your furniture has dry clean only fabrics, water spotting could occur. The whole piece of furniture might need wetting to keep you from having visible water lines.

The growth of Mildew – The primary method of preventing the growth of mildew is removing the water source with rapid drying. Dehumidifiers and air movers which we at SERVPRO can provide will lessen the time that is needed for drying.

Wooden Furniture
When wood composition or wood furniture comes into contact with water, two things can happen. Water spotting can occur on the finish, or the water can cause cracking, swelling or weakening of joints. Specialized wood care products can be used to take out water spots, and a furniture refinisher can fix any problems with furniture frames. Particleboard furniture covered with laminate does not react well with water. The laminate can resist the water and act as a barrier, while the non-laminated side will absorb a lot of water, which can lead to warping.
 
Flooding as you can see can cause severe damage to your furniture, which will need the professional help of our technicians at SERVPRO of Teaneck / Englewood. Contact us at any time after you’ve experienced flooding of any kind by calling (201) 266-0482.