After the flood

Anna Riley, Director of ServiceMaster Clean Portsmouth and Southampton, explains how businesses have been restored in the aftermath of recent heavy rains.

The last few months have seen UK coastlines battered by storms; and thousands of properties have been flooded as a result of heavy rains. Flood warnings, issued by the Environment Agency, remain in place for communities across southern England until at least the end of January. 

This heavy rain and flooding has caused extensive damage to building structures, both commercial and residential, such as leaking roofs, burst pipes, flooded floors and tiles loosened by high winds.

ServiceMaster Clean Portsmouth and Southampton has been managing a significant clean-up operation for commercial organisations and residential properties in the south east. The team, which covers areas in and around Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight, has undertaken a significant increase in flood restoration work during the wet weather period.

Businesses affected by serious disasters should request that professionally qualified contractors are used for restoration and recovery. Experts will be able to restore carpet and upholstery, extract water, remove odour, dry and dehumidify buildings, remove spills, dry and recover documents, and offer any other related services that you may require.

Even a small amount of water can cause all kinds of problems if left unchecked, so it makes sense to deal with the damage as soon as possible. ServiceMaster Clean provides a specialist disaster recovery service, Restoration Response™ to deal with incidents quickly, therefore keeping the damage and associated costs to a minimum.

Sign up is free, giving businesses peace of mind that, in an unexpected emergency, help can be received within 2-4 hours at any time of the year. This quick response was welcomed by organisations in the south east of England, an area that experienced significant rainfall just days before Christmas.

For example, one of the largest universities in the region faced significant flooding of its facilities. It was vital that this educational establishment was operational by the start of the new year, when students returned from their festive break. It was also critical that the students’ well-being was not put at risk by health and safety hazards from the flooding.

Over the winter period, this particular region also saw an increase in demand for the disaster restoration service from pubs, as they are often situated near rivers or by the sea, in the region covered by this ServiceMaster Clean team.

In one instance, restoration work was undertaken at a pub on the Isle of Wight which was flooded by water coming in from the sea. Water had saturated the pub garden and flowed through into the first floor of the pub, which was submerged under 2ft of water.

All furniture had to be stripped out of the pub, to avoid being damaged further and to allow space for restoration work to be completed. The furniture was taken to ServiceMaster Clean’s workshop, ready to be assessed and restored if possible.

ServiceMaster Clean subsequently sanitised the ground floor to stop the spread of bacteria from potentially dirty water. Flood water can contain sewage, chemicals and animal waste, and there may be hazards in the water such as sharp objects. Always wear waterproof outerwear, including gloves, wellington boots and a face mask to protect yourself.

Once water was pumped from the building, specialist drying equipment was used. If materials and surfaces have failed to dry out correctly following water damage, moisture can become a source for dry rot, bacteria and growth of toxic mould. This can become a health hazard, releasing allergenic spores or toxic compounds into the air.

The drying process can take up to five weeks, depending upon how serious the flooding is. ServiceMaster Clean return to the premises every week to check whether the materials are dry. Once this has been verified by ServiceMaster Clean’s specially trained technicians, a drying certificate is then issued to the owner.

Wherever possible ServiceMaster Clean works with organisations to carry out full restoration of damaged floor coverings, furniture and upholstery, saving materials from our landfills that could take hundreds of years to break down. The technology for protecting, sustaining and restoring the appearance of floor coverings and furniture that were previously considered beyond repair, has improved dramatically.

The majority of property damage cases result in an insurance claim. We understand the importance of clear and concise communication with you, whilst ensuring that restoration works are compatible with loss adjuster and insurer processes. Attention to detail and state of the art central reporting and auditing ensure that all parties involved are aware of the progress of the claim.

Practical tips for minimising damage in the immediate aftermath of a flood:

• Have a list of important contacts, including your insurance company and disaster restoration specialists which can help you quickly return back to ‘business as usual’ in the event of property damage

• Move furniture to a higher level, away from the water, as soon as possible to minimise the damage

• If you regularly face the risk of a flood, consider having plastic bases to furniture, as this is less likely to be damaged than wood or other materials

• If your electricity supply is not already switched off at the mains, get a qualified person to do this. DO NOT touch sources of electricity when standing in flood water.

For more information about Restoration Response™ call 0845 762 6828 or visit www.restorationresponse.co.uk

Published in Cleaning Matters – Feb/March 2014