Buffalo Restoration

Water can often accumulate in the basement of your home from a leaky pipe, spigot, climate conditions, or a flood. Each of these carries the potential to cause serious damage to your concrete foundation and home; slowly eating away at and attacking the wooden and concrete surfaces. Over time, this can even cause your foundation to foil, placing your livelihood at risk.

Moisture and water damage can also cause mold to appear on concrete floors, walls, tiles, carpeting and furniture. Once these elements have entered into your basement and home, most people are at a loss as to remove the problem’s source.

It’s easy to focus on the problem instead of finding the right solution. And when it comes to these moisture issues, unfortunately, structural weakening of your home isn’t the only concern. These elements can also cause residual effects including topical allergic reactions, breathing and respiratory difficulties and other health concerns. But, there is a way to fix this!

Most of the time, water accumulates from broken gutters, bad drainage systems, basement flooding or cracks in the walls of your foundation. You’ll definitely be in need of more than a towel and mop for this situation, so where to begin?

Remove your Valuables

First, you must decide what is valuable, what you intend to keep and what you plan on discarding. Most people store important documents in their basement, so it’s best to photocopy all valuable documents that may have been damaged by water. This will allow you to maintain proper records, but also discard the documents that have been damaged.

After you’ve selected and photocopied your important documents, discard your non-valuables. Items such as old books, magazines, records, stuffed animals and clothing should be discarded to prevent mold and mildew from forming and causing foul odors. Anything that’s made from organic material has the potential to grow mold, because mold feeds upon organic items. Thus, drywall, wood, and paper can become homes for mold if the air becomes moist.

Ceilings and Walls

First, remove all curtains, drapes and mini-blinds. Clean as instructed by the manufacture.

Then, remove all damaged tiles and insulation from the ceiling and replace with dry, clean insulation and tiles.

Wipe down the walls and all surfaces with a dry, clean dust rag to remove any water that may cause damage to your possessions. Inspect for wet or damaged insulation and drywall. Wet insulation never dries properly, so it must be replaced. Also, swap out all drywall that shows the slightest sign of buckling. Wet insulation and drywall are prime locations for mold and mildew to form.

Dry, Clean Floors

Excess water can be removed from tile, linoleum and hard wood floors with a mop and towels, but carpeting is a whole other animal. Remove the water from the padding and carpeting using a water extraction vacuum.
 
These vacuums come equipped with an assortment of application tools and settings to achieve the deepest cleaning cycle available. For the best results, use the equipment's recommended shampoo. Extract the water, and repeat this cycle until you’ve achieved the desired results.

This process must be done properly, these conditions can be very unhealthy, so do-it-yourselfers, contact an expert to help. This professional will examine your situation, determine your specific needs, discuss your options and recommend the best, most cost efficient way for you to achieve your goal.

Contact Buffalo Restoration today for a free estimate for basement waterproofing in Bozeman, MT and all surrounding areas.