After a week of heavy rains left California wet and muddy, residents are bracing for yet another storm. The National Weather Service reports a smaller storm is expected to make landfall on Tuesday and should last a couple of days.
This comes as bad news as people took advantage of the drier weather and began the restoration process this weekend. The week of stormy weather affected the hills to the beaches: recently wildfire-devastated areas experienced mud slides and the coast had dirty beaches as the San Gabriel River sent trash to line the ocean shores. Stranger yet, cities across the state witnessed the fall of hail, and the sighting of a funnel cloud prompted a tornado warning near Brentwood. Work crews and residents in California are now scrambling to clean up what they can before the next wave of rain hits.
It is vital that water damage caused by the recent storms is cleaned up as mold damage will soon follow if items are left damp. A company that specialized in disaster recovery services can assist in this effort and help businesses and homeowners get back on their feet by drying wet documents and other items.
The weekend rain continues to pour down on Southern California as four storms are predicted to blow through the area this week . Rain is expected to continue through Tuesday morning and turn into a stronger storm with lightening and thunder. Hail, tornadoes, and up to 1.5 inches of rain are expected to make an appearance this afternoon and last through the night.
Authorities are advising commuters to exercise caution this evening on their way home. They also ask that people stay inside when there is lightening and thunder.
The coastal areas have a high-surf advisory in effect through the end of the week. A flood watchhas also been issued through Wednesday.
The strongest in this series of storms is expected to affect Southern California on Wednesday and Thursday. Experts predict that as much as 8 inches of rain could fall in the area.
Lisa Scottoline recently wrote in her Philly.com column, “Chick Wit“, about an unfortunate event that unfolds on Christmas Eve 2009.
Scottoline recounts purchasing a new TV for her home and hiring an electrician as the installation of it required rewiring the electricity. Soon after the electrician begins his work in the basement, he emerges upstairs and reports to Scottline a pipe burst in the radiant heating of her home: the sub-floor was soaked, the insulation was wet and falling apart, and the area was flooded.
This notice began a chain of events that most don’t want to deal with-let alone on Christmas Eve. A plumber had to be called to do emergency work, followed by an HVAC tech. The HVAC tech was able to turn off the rain of water, but the plumber had to come back in to finish the repairs.
The plumber made it out a few days later, on New Year’s Eve, and told Scottoline she needs to call an “emergency water-damage company or (she) could have a ‘microbial problem’.” This microbial problem meant mold.
The “water-damage” company was able to make it Scottoline’s home quickly on the same day and they began remediating the flooded crawlspace. They took out the insulation and installed equipment to eliminate the moldy flood waters. A dehumidifier was also placed strategically in the home to make sure everything was properly dried so mold would not spread or re-grow.
Scottoline reports her biggest concerns in this ordeal were the noise of the dehumidifier and the though of having moldy water in her home.
Questions that others might have wondered: How did the pipe burst? How can I prevent this incident from happening again?
“Water-damage” companies are very expedient in their services and have trained professionals that know what to do to solve the current problem and prevent future ones from happening. Learn more about flood restoration services.
The Heritage Center, which is part of the Homestead National Monument of America, suffered water damagerecently when a water main broke and flooded the lower level of the building with an inch or so of water. The flooding was discovered by police when the water set-off the building’s alarm system. The cut-off switch did not turn the water off and staff had to turn it off manually.
The center is home to thousands of artifacts from the time of the American homestead. Volunteers, contractors, and staff have been working around the clock to try to remediate the wet artifacts and dry out the building. The Beatrice Daily Sun reported the following:
“An assortment of Shop-Vac machines, fans, dehumidifiers and plastic barriers were scattered throughout the building Saturday morning as crews scurried to preserve not only exhibits and artifacts, but also dry the building’s carpet, walls and other items.
Homestead staff divided artifacts into eight categories for assessment purposes: Books, wood, medal, leather, framed art, archival boxes, paper archives and photographic archives.
…Included in the early damage reports, approximately 255 books had water damage and 101 wood objects had been touched by water.”
Homes have fan systems built into them to help prevent the build-up of condensation. These come in the form of fans in the kitchen and bathroom.
The purpose of a fan is the ventilate moisture created by steam or condensation. Many times fans in kitchens and bathrooms in older houses vent into attics, which are not well vented in and of themselves. When vents blow into an area that is enclosed and cold (like an attic), condensation will build up and the liquid created will soak into the insulation and framing materials in that area. As a result, mold will form and begin to rot the wood and materials. Similar results will happen when the attic has loose-fill insulation: the mold will eat through the insulation on the side closest to the fan vent. Condensation will form in this area since it will be cooler. The worst case scenario is when a bathroom does not have a vent as this can cause as much damage as a leaky roof.
Fans in the kitchen must have their hoods cleaned periodically to reduce the buildup of grease and the risk of fires. If a kitchen fan vents into an attic, not only will moisture buildup in that area, but grease will too. A kitchen fire can easily travel into the greasy fan hood and end up quickly catching an attic on fire.
A better solution is having fan systems ventilate outside. However, when vent fans are placed close to an outside wall of a home and under a roof, the moisture venting outside will be directed to the sheathing of the roof. When this happens the sheathing will form mold and begin to decay.
“A range fan must vent through approved metal pipe all the way to the exterior of the home. Whether vertical through the roof or horizontal through a wall or foundation, the range fan must vent to the outside.”
