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.
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.”
Unexpectedly high rainfall caused water damage to businesses in the Riverdale -area of South Boston, Virginia.
As the banks of the Dan River rose, business owner held their breath. Some businesses reported to have up to 12″ of water, others close to 30″. WSET.com reports that some owners felt lucky that they planned ahead for the flooding, while others are hoping the mud and waters did not permanently ruin their electronic equipment. Halifax County Emergency Services are assisting business owners with surveying the damage.
There are the have and have-nots in the business world: those that have prepared, and those that have not and wish they did. Those who run enterprises, big or small, need to be ready for the worst when it comes to disaster preparedness. Check out these tips on how to be prepared for a flood.
After employees at the four-month-old Santa Clara County crime lab building packed their things for the night and locked the doors behind them, no one was the wiser to a vandal that slipped in to the state-of-the-art lab and took advantage of the full 24 hours it had to cause up to $1 million in damages. The vandal: water.
The water did not come from the heavy rainfall that took its toll on the Bay Area over a week ago. It came from the $75 million crime lab’s seals on the roof-top pump that cracked, sending tubs upon tubs of water down through all four floors of the lab. Many key areas were so devastated that employees had to find other areas to conduct their work. Processing evidence, which includes DNA, is going to be slower than usual. However, no evidence was damaged in the incident.
“Tuesday, crews were working to cut out soggy drywall, ceiling tiles and carpet. The work is expected to continue for six to eight weeks.
…Jeff Draper, the head of the county’s Facilities and Fleet Department, rated the damage on a scale of one to 10 at seven or eight.
…The incident is the latest in a series of embarrassing problems with county buildings over the years, including the condemnation and closure of the San Martin courthouse because of mold caused by leaks.”
Residents in a San Antonio, Texas neighborhood have constant battles with water damage because of reoccurring water damage.
The culprit: a break in a water-line that runs through the neighborhood, which has been broken since 1995. This main water-line bursts in two a fountain at least once a year.
Ken5.com reports a man affected in this neighborhood constantly has a flooded backyard, shed, and garage. The foundation of this man’s home is falling apart and the cracks in his walls prove it. Another neighbor has had to fix her foundation a couple of times.
The residents affected cannot seek damages in court because the broken water-line is a public utility protected by law.
Flood damage can do more than just make cracks in walls and cause foundations to crumble. Water brings mold, which can create even more extensive damage that can be difficult to remediate.
