How to Guide: Water Damage Remediation Essentials for Beginners in New Orleans

2/16/2020 (Permalink)

Responding quickly to water damage in your home can produce great results. Don't delay, contact SERVPRO right away.

Clear Understanding of Cleaning Agents That Helps Resolve Water Damage Incidents In New Orleans 

When water damage affects property, various challenges emerge, the main one being soiling of materials in the areas affected by the incident. The soiling can happen immediately the water spill occurs, or later as people interact with the wet areas, especially by walking around or moving items.

When cleaning areas affected by a water damage incident in New Orleans homes, the goal is to remove soils efficiently and fast, as well as to prevent immediate re-soiling. The use of detergents helps achieve these goals. However, detergents differ in many ways, so there is a need to choose the right one to get the desired results. Our SERVPRO technicians receive in-depth training on how soap and detergents work, so we are better placed to make choices to match the conditions at your loss site.

Regular soaps are made from a process that creates a reaction between animal fats, an alkali, and water, producing a hydrocarbon chain that dissolves other hydrocarbons such as grease and oil. However, some drawbacks can develop from a poorly managed cleaning process. For instance, if not rinsed properly, soap leaves a greasy residue that leads to faster re-soiling of cleaned areas. Our SERVPRO technicians spare no effort when rinsing areas cleaned with soap to minimize the chances of re-soiling.

When cleaning an area, factors such as the presence of mineral ions like magnesium or calcium in water can limit the effectiveness of the process. The ions combine with the cleaning agent forming scum, which stops the cleaning action. Our SERVPRO technicians overcome this challenge easily by using synthetic detergents, which have varied electrostatic states that limit the chances of scum formation. Alternatively, we also use water softeners, which limit the action of mineral ions in water, thus improving the cleaning process.

Cleaning is a crucial part of resolving water damage incidents. Call SERVPRO of The New Orleans Westbank at (504) 348-7526 to help. We're Faster To Any Size Disaster.

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