Winter Worries, Commercial Water Damage to Retail Shops in Westerly, and SERVPRO to the Rescue

2/17/2020 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Keeps Your Westerly Retail Store Open during Water and Freeze Loss Recovery

Westerly Water Damage in a Jewelry Store Due to Freeze-Thaw Issues

Temperatures below freezing point followed by a weekend of warm weather led to thawing and rupturing of waterlines affecting many properties in Westerly, including a jewelry store. The damage was extensive necessitating help from a professional restorer such as SERVPRO.

The problem originated from the sprinkler systems. The overhead nature of the commercial Westerly water damage in the jewelry store meant the water had spread all over contents, affecting even high-value items locked inside the counters. The sudden change from a frozen state damages most interior parts of sprinklers leading to sudden leaks, and unless the mains are shut off immediately, significant amounts of water are released, causing widespread damages. Freeze-thaw problems are common in underheated buildings.

Our SERVPRO team had to work fast to remove the water pooling in the building halting further deterioration. We also had to carry out thorough cleaning since the water had spread dust and other soils all over the interior. Before we could start the cleaning, we had to make a full inventory of the items within the store. Our electronic CCIS, Content Claim Inventory Service, helped us record all items. We also confirmed that the owners had secured high-value jewelry items.

After working 15 hours cleaning up and restoring damaged areas, the store regained a semblance of normalcy. However, we still had to keep going to restore it to its preloss state. We applied deodorizers using ULV misters to take care of any bad odor. We then set up two additional dehumidifiers and several air movers to control the drying process.

After confirming that all sections of the property had dried to standard levels through constant monitoring, we returned all the contents that we had moved to pave the way for restoration. The records from the CCIS came in handy for this task. Resources such as handcarts also helped when moving bulky items, allowing us to finish the re-arrangement process fast.

Simple problems such as changes in temperatures can lead to massive losses. Call SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 to help. We're Faster To Any Size Disaster.