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There are common home disasters that can occur and unless you understand what necessary home maintenance is needed, you could lose your home. Here is the story of one Tucson senior…..
“Recently we heard about a Tucson senior living in a manufactured home community. At 102 years of age, she is fiercely independent. She has friends, loving neighbors, and an at-home companion that helps her do her grocery shopping, cleaning, and hair appointments.
Recently she woke up to a flooded bathroom and bedroom. The bathroom toilet was leaking on the floor. There was a delay of several days before any action was taken. Her son called a local carpet cleaner. The water was turned off, the carpet was dried, and the floor was deemed unsafe. Arrangements had to be made to move her from her home to a care facility.”
Commercial Cleaning and Restoration is an Aging in Place Specialist, Carpet Cleaner, Home Maintenance, and Water Damage Restoration expert and our advice is….
The biggest mistake was delaying any action for several days.
Call a Plumber to Turn the Water Source Off
Make sure the electricity is off before you walk through standing water! If the water is coming from a broken pipe or something of that sort, get the water source turned off.
Immediately Call a 24/7 Emergency Water Damage Help
Soggy wet carpet in a manufactured home with particle board flooring can lead to floor rot. The moisture build-up in the floor can also cause dangerous mold issues. Mold can start to develop within 24 to 48 hours of water exposure.
It is very important to place an emergency call to a water damage restoration expert as soon as you notice a water leak. It is tempting to let water leaks dry on their own, but there are consequences to waiting for the water to disappear. In our 102-year senior’s case, she lost her home. A quick response often means less damage and the least amount of home maintenance work that we must do to fix your property.
- Cleanup and repair are dependent on the type of water involved. Is the water clean or is it sewage? Also, how long has the water been sitting there? Carpets and vinyl flooring that were under water for less than 24 hours can be salvaged if the floodwater was not contaminated with sewage. They will need to be professionally cleaned and dried.
- Drying begins immediately. The standing water is removed, and drying equipment (dehumidifiers and air movers) is placed in the home.
Following these 2 important water-damage home maintenance steps will help keep the damage to a minimum and keep your house habitable.
Get Help Removing Your Valuables
After a flood, you should remove any possessions that may be sitting in water as soon as you safely can and start airing and drying them out.
What Other Unplanned Water Events Can Occur?
It’s normal to feel panicked if a pipe bursts, your ceiling is leaking, or the floor is flooding!
But the most important thing is to not get overwhelmed. Take a deep breath and remember… Call a plumber and call Commercial Cleaning and Restoration whenever any of these water events happen:
- The broken pipe left hundreds of gallons of water in your home
- A faulty dishwasher saturated your kitchen cabinets and floors with water
- A water supply line leak in your washing machine
- A blocked toilet that is overflowing
- Clogged drains
- A leaking water heater
- Condensation from your air conditioning
- Monsoon storm created water damage havoc throughout your house
The second mistake was leaving the flooring unrepaired.
The Mobile Home Floor Needed to be Repaired
The water had been allowed to stay for days. The particle board flooring had suffered damage. When wet, the particle board in a mobile home floor becomes a lot like soggy cardboard. Home flooding should always include an inspection for water damage from a profession restoration company. Not only does it help with understanding the extent of the damage but can be extremely valuable information for your insurance company.
Damage Should Be Discovered with an Inspection
Especially for our seniors, the property needs to be inspected to make sure it is structurally safe after home flooding. We look for buckled walls or floors to start with. Other things we look at are:
- Were cabinets damaged
- Does the carpet need replacing
- Does the drywall need replacing
- Are the floors safe for walking on
What Does Repair and Restoration Entail?
Commercial Cleaning & Restoration will return your home to pre-damage conditions. We will fix and replace any materials that were permanently damaged or removed. Restoration projects may be simple or extensive, depending on the amount of permanent damage that occurred.
Once the remediation is complete and your insurance company has sent you the restoration funds, we suggest ordering materials. Be prepared for a process. The repair stage has a lot of moving parts – Commercial Cleaning and Restoration’s scope of work; materials must be ordered and received; a specialty contractor may be needed for an upgrade; etc. Be patient and stay focused on a beautiful outcome!
Benefits of Aging At Home and Regular Home Maintenance
Our independent senior was not happy with the arrangement her son had made. She is blind and her surroundings were familiar to her. This allowed her to be comfortable in a less stressful environment.
How We Can Help with Your Home Maintenance Needs
It doesn’t have to be a catastrophic water event for us to help seniors who want to remain home. Seniors like to be independent, doing many of the things they’ve always enjoyed doing. Regular home maintenance such as fitting the home with appropriate accessibility tools like grab bars, ramps, and others is critical to ensuring the resident can maintain their independence and be safe.
We start with determining your needs. Whether you have a written plan for making your home accessible from your therapist or you need help identifying improvements to your home, we can work with you to make changes that will keep you independent. Our services include installing all types of ADA-compliant equipment or features, including grab bars, widening of doorways for wheelchair accessibility, wheelchair ramps, lower light switches, shelving and cabinets that can be adjusted, zero entrance showers, mobility lifts, and more. Whatever your needs, we’ll help you implement the right accessibility tools and home maintenance.
Repair • Remodel • Construction • Aging in Place
At Commercial Cleaning & Restoration, we want the best for you and your home and we will work to prove it to you.
We also clean carpets, area rugs, and upholstery.
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