Your Commercial Property Has Water Damage: Now What?

There can be any number of reasons your commercial property has water damage. Severe weather, burst pipes, or broken appliances, to name but a few. But now it’s happened, there’s only one thing to do — fix the issue. Nine times out of ten, when water damage is identified quickly, your commercial property can be back up and running in no time. Sometimes, it is not even necessary to close, as restoration companies can work around your tenants and public.

Smaller, persistent leaks may take longer to identify, in which case the most likely problem you’re facing is mold. If this is the case, you can clean up small patches yourself with water and vinegar, taking care to carefully dry the area and fix the source of the problem, which in many scenarios could be a broken pipe; or a damaged roof, window frame, or door frame. 

If the mold issue is out of hand, or you can’t access the source of the problem because it’s inside floors or walls, it’s time to call a damage restoration company. Mold is an important consideration after water damage and often is the first indicator that there is water damage on your commercial property.

After severe weather or extensive water damage, you may be facing a few inches or more of water in your commercial facility. In this instance, there is no home remedy: you need to call on professionals with the experience and equipment necessary to solve the issue. The severity of the water damage can vary depending on the source of the water.

Generally, we divide the types of floodwater into three main categories:

• White water
• Gray water
• Blackwater

(I think in 2022 we could come up with better names for these types of water because they are not actually white, gray, or black in color — how about low-risk water damage, moderate-risk water damage and high-risk water damage? Jus’ sayin’.)

Depending on which of these three types of water damage you have, there are different precautions to take during their cleanup. White water (low-risk water) is generally considered clean and non-hazardous, in which case, your plan of action should be as follows:

1. Ensure the safety of all the users of the building by evacuating them if the water damage is catastrophic, or cordoning off the area if the water damage is localized.
2. Fix the source of the water if the flow is still coming in, such as from a broken pipe. Turn off the water supply as soon as possible, or divert the water if you can find a way to do this safely.
3. Salvage any items you can, moving them to a dry, ventilated area. Some of the items may be able to be restored, others you may, unfortunately, have to replace. Steer clear of electrical items that are plugged in. If they aren’t plugged in, you can move those to a drier area too.
4. Call a damage restoration company. At Superdry Restoration, Inc, we use high-tech extraction pumps to ensure we can eliminate every trace of excess surface water in a safe, effective, and efficient way.
5. Once the surface water is removed, the area needs to be thoroughly dried and dehumidified to prevent mold from settling in — and to make the area safe and useable. We use industrial machinery to dry the carpets and furnishings on your commercial property and can check the integrity of the structure itself, too.
6. Finally, the water-damaged space can be deodorized and disinfected and you can concentrate on moving personal items back in and getting back to normal.

The situation becomes a little more problematic if the water is moderate-risk water (gray water) or high-risk water (blackwater). Used water that doesn’t contain biohazardous elements needs a little more care than white water, as it may contain chemicals. Your trusted restoration company can reliably assess the hazards associated with moderate-risk water, and act accordingly. This is why you shouldn’t attempt to clean this kind of water damage yourself.

High-risk water (blackwater) poses even more of a threat, because it is water that contains biohazards, such as human waste, or flood water which may contain human and animal waste, and what is more, it may be electrically charged. Under no circumstances should you try to remediate high-risk water damage yourself. The steps you should take in these instances include moving away from the water and calling the professionals to deal with the issue.

At Superdry Restoration, Inc, we deal with water damage all over the Greater Los Angeles area and are accustomed to dealing with many different types of jobs; both big and small. Trust our more than 20 years of experience in making your commercial property ‘Superdry’ again, and get back to running your business.