Understanding Secondary Damage

7/12/2018 (Permalink)

If you experience flooding in your home, you may think things can’t get worse. Unfortunately, they can. The more time that goes by before you contact a water damage mitigation specialist in KC, to dry out your home, the more extensive the water damage can become. This is because it wicks up walls and saturates porous materials, causing irreversible damage. When flooding isn’t dealt with in a timely fashion, it can also cause secondary damage, including black mold.

What Is Secondary Damage?

Secondary damage includes the problems that arise as a result of having standing water in a house, rather than the direct damage caused by the water. As floodwater sits in your home it evaporates into the air, causing high humidity. The moisture in the air then condenses on walls, furniture and other possessions elsewhere in your home. That means even areas of your house that weren’t affected by the initial flooding may now become saturated and suffer water damage. Wood warps, plaster and drywall crack and crumble and upholstery and fabrics become chronically damp.

Mold Is Also Secondary Damage

These damp conditions also create ideal conditions for black mold growth. Because mold spores are found everywhere, they will flourish anywhere there is sufficient moisture. Once walls, furniture and carpeting are infected with mold they may need to be thrown out. The small spaces in porous materials become filled with mold and cleaning them is often far more expensive than replacing them. Even non-porous materials will need to be scrubbed, disinfected and dried to prevent mold regrowth.

If your home suffers a flooding event, don’t wait to contact a water damage mitigation specialist in KC. The longer water sits inside your house, the more humid conditions will become, causing water damage far from the original source and creating ideal conditions for black mold growth. By taking action quickly to clean up excess water and dry out your home, you can prevent secondary damage.

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