How Are Odors Removed After Flooding?

4/11/2022 (Permalink)

Mold damage behind walls in Hamilton, OH.

After a Flood, How Are Odors Removed?

After a flood strikes a business or your commercial building, it leaves a disaster in its wake. Not only does the moisture encourage explosive black mold growth, but a toxic residue is also often left coating everything the floodwaters touch. It’s why buildings smell so awful afterward.

Usually, you’ll need a top restoration expert to inspect and remediate the damage caused by floodwater. They have access to custom sanitizers and equipment to remove toxins, mold and odors. They use a range of methods to get the best results, including

Abrasive cleaning
Dry cleaning
Foam cleaning
Immersion cleaning

What Causes the Odors?

Probably the most noticeable smell is the strong musty odor. This is from mold growth, which loves the inside of buildings. Drywall and wood provide food for the mold, while the mold spores are always all around us. All it needs to grow is excessive humidity.
Floods also frequently leave a toxic sludge covering everything. Items such as ceramic tile and other non-porous surfaces can often be cleaned with a spray and wipe using ordinary sanitizers, but porous items will absorb the water and residue. During a flood, it’s normal to have sewage loss mix in with the flood water which gets everywhere. It’s also responsible for some of the worst odors.

Can Odors Be Removed or Do You Have to Replace Everything?

Using proprietary cleaning agents, restoration experts often can save items instead of replacing them. This not only saves money, it often can save irreplaceable items. SERVPRO leaves your commercial building “Like it never even happened.”
To facilitate the odor removal process, they’ll bring in large-volume air movers and clean everything that was touched by the flood. they can often save essential paperwork and documents, too, using very advanced methods such as freeze-drying and vacuum thermal drying. Future mold growth will also be inhibited by the moisture removal process.
The key is to get reopened as quickly as possible for your business to survive. Your Hamilton, OH, restoration technicians are trained to expedite service for commercial customers.
Odor removal is usually easy and quick for professional restorers. The sooner they start, the more effective it’ll be.