The following are the common types of water damage that occur in residential buildings and in commercial properties:

Faulty Appliances: water leakage occurs due to damage of water pipe, water heaters, and other relevant devices.

Moderate Contamination: Water contamination occurs due to leakage of groundwater from a broken sump pump. Plus, this type of contamination occurs due to a broken bathtub or damaged washing machine. You may observe that water is slightly contaminated and growth of bacteria is also found in it. Although it does not pose an immediate risk of health to humans and pets, it is expected that this type of problem should be rectified without any kind of delay.

Severe Contamination: When water is severely contaminated and when there is a high level of growth of pathogen or bacteria, then this type of condition would often impose serious health hazard to pets as well as human beings. If water leakage is not rectified within one or two days, then it becomes quite difficult to handle. Severe water contamination occurs due to leakage of sewage pipes, sewer lines and dirt accumulation from rivers, ejector pits, ponds and so on.

When you hire Lewis Cleaners the first step that we evaluate is to find out the exact source of water damage. The next step is to choose proper equipment as well as right procedures that are involved for this purpose.

Multiple dehumidifiers, high-quality blowers, air injection devices, equipment for disinfecting or sanitizing are used for water damage recovery and restoration.

Our Water Damage Clean-up Procedure:

Moisture detection. We use moisture meter-sand probes to determine where the water is and how much moisture has soaked into drywall and wood.
Water Extraction. We use our powerful truck-mounted vacuum with a special tool that extracts water directly from the padding. We then spend extra time dry extracting as much water as possible.
Drying equipment placement. Based on the amount of water, drying equipment will be put in place to quickly evaporate the remainder of the water in the building.
Equipment monitoring. An IICRC certified technician stops by regularly to meter the drying status and place the equipment in an ideal area for faster drying.

It is your right to chose a qualified company. Some insurance companies will lead you to believe that you must use the company that they refer. Often times, their “preferred vendor” is not certified by the IICRC.

What’s worse is that often their company is chosen based on the cheapest prices. The contractor that the insurance company sends out may not be working in your best interest but in the best interest of the insurance company. You have a legal right to use the company of your choice.

Certified technicians have the proper training to dry your flooded building out in the shortest time possible. The IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification) is the industry’s leading certifying body and establishes the standards for water damage mitigation.

Call a certified water damage professional now!
Write down a list of damaged items to give to your adjuster.
Protect your furnishings. Remove any wet pieces of furniture. Place tin foil beneath any furniture with wood legs. This will keep the wood from bleeding on the floor.
Remove any wet fabrics from the home. Take wet rugs, clothing, upholstery cushions, books, towels, or anything removable out.
Turn on your air conditioning system and fans. This will help dehumidify the air.

Don’t use your household vacuum to remove water.
Don’t turn on ceiling fans if the ceiling is wet.
Don’t enter rooms with sagging ceilings.
Don’t plug in or turn on any appliances.

In most cases, your carpet and pad are restorable IF the water was clean water and has been in the carpet for less than 24 hours. Repairs can often be done to the carpet if necessary to restore the carpet as it was before the flood. In most cases, your home will be dry in 2-4 days.

Without the proper experience and equipment, the flooded area could take days, weeks, or months to dry. The water begins to wick up into the drywall and into the studs inside the wall. This makes a perfect environment for mold and wood destroying organisms to grow. Mold grows on wood, baseboards, drywall, and inside cabinets if the building is not quickly dried. If mold is present, the affected area must be replaced.

When a hardwood floor takes in water, it will buckle within a matter of days if not properly dried. We use special moisture meters to determine how much moisture is present in the wood. If the flood has just occurred, the hardwood may be restorable.

Yes. Turning it off can cause further damage. Most of our equipment has a timer to tell us how long the equipment was run.

There is often a musty odor that is associated with a flood. This odor will dissipate soon after the building is dry. Foggers and deodorizers are used if necessary. If this odor bothers you, ask your insurance company if they will reimburse you for a hotel expense while the building is drying.

No. In almost all cases we will have created a better drying environment with our drying equipment than there is by opening windows.

Wet drywall can be restored in most cases provided there is no mold on the drywall.

In every situation that we have seen, the cost for water damage restoration is paid for by the insurance company (minus your deductible). Your insurance company wants you to take immediate action in stopping further damage. Every service that we do for you will appear on the bill to your insurance company. As soon as we begin the job, you’ll want to call your insurance carrier to let them know that you have a certified company drying the building for you.

We will provide you with a current price list of equipment and service costs. All of our prices are similar to other certified water damage restoration companies and are in accordance with the Bluebook of Cleaning, Reconstruction, and Repair Costs. The total cost for our service will be determined by how long the structure takes to dry.