Recovering from Damage when the Water Heater Floods Your Norristown Home's Basement

2/12/2018 (Permalink)

Leaky Water Heater Means Damage--Call SERVPRO to Dry Out Your Norristown Home

SERVPRO Provides Excellent Water Damage Cleanup Services in Your Area

As winter weather continues in Norristown, the ability to take a hot shower helps people warm up after outside chores, get ready for a day at work, or relax before heading to bed. Water heaters do not last forever, though, with the average lifespan of even the best models touted at around ten or fifteen years. Replacing yours when it approaches this limit can help prevent problems, but many people prefer to wait until the inevitable break-down before purchasing a new one. Many homeowners do not expect the water heater to cause them problems well beyond a temporary loss of hot water.
 
However, residents in Norristown can experience water damage to their belongings when the water heater leaks. The heating unit may still function while other parts break down, allowing water to feed into the now-leaking appliance. This becomes very similar to a broken water line, except any rust or other mineral buildups in the heater's tank can end up on your basement's floor. Rusty fragments from the interior of the tank can stain any carpeting present, posing additional problems for those homes with finished basements. In this situation, shutting off the water to the heater must happen quickly. While doing so may shut off water to other parts of the home, leaving the water running can only result in a very poor trade-off.
 
SERVPRO technicians can prevent water damage from taking over your home and stop its progress in your basement. Removing the water that spilled out of the tank and then reducing the amount of humidity in the air and semi-porous materials helps us accomplish this for you. We use flexible tubing to pump out standing water, and then implement smaller pumps and heated extraction units to pull moisture out of your flooring and walls. We also place desiccant (if needed) machines and dehumidifiers in the affected area, so the air remains as dry as possible while we work.
 
Because water wicks upward due to capillary action, we remove waterlogged drywall about six inches above visible saturation. Moisture can hide under the paper backing, causing swelling and disintegration to occur later. We make sure we cut affected drywall as neatly as possible, so restoration work does not need to smooth out the cut edges to match replacement materials. SERVPRO WRT technicians, when possible, salvage, rather than replace building materials.
 
SERVPRO of Norristown wants to help those in our local communities, including Audubon, East and West Norriton, and Wetherhills when protection against water damage from any source. Certified by the IICRC, we arrive with our equipment prepared and ready to handle the worst disasters. Call us at (610) 272-8520, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so we can restore your property "Like it never even happened."

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