Water Damage Restoration Alexandria, Virginia
Coming back home from a well-deserved vacation or a stressful business trip, and walking into a property covered with water or even worse, sewage, is the worst thing that can happen to a homeowner. If you are a landlord, the worst type of call you can get in the middle of the day or night is, some pipe got busted and all of the house is like a swimming pool. After getting over the initial shock, your first task is to stop the problem source and start the restoration process. Because the longer you wait, the worse the damage will get. It is in your best interest to call VIP Restoration services in the Alexandria, Virginia area. Our team is always available, even on Thanksgiving or Christmas day. Because we know that every minute wasted waiting to start the damage restoration process is as valuable as gold for you.
What Is Water Damage ?
The name seems to be self explanatory but, one should also consider, there are different types and different classes of damage.
First category is called “Damage by Clean Water”. In this category, the damage is caused by uncontaminated water, like a pipe carrying fresh water inside the property starting to leak. In most of the cases, there is no imminent health risk to the people living in the property. This kind of damage can be addressed by removing the water from the environment and strategically placing air movers and letting nature take its course, drying the area. Keep in mind this kind of damage can easily turn to a 2nd category damage if not addressed within the first 48 hours or so.
Second category is called “Grey Water Damage”. The term “grey water” is used for water with contaminants in it. Grey water can be coming from a leaky dishwasher pipe or drain pipe of the clothes washer, or it can come from mundane places like a crack on an aquarium tank or a leaky waterbed. All these sources of water have some contaminants in them. Hence they are very susceptible for bacteria growth on the surfaces where the water pools. If the pooling area is carpeted, the padding will need to be removed and replaced, as the porous matter of the padding is a very hospitable environment for bacteria growth, even after it is completely dry. Due to water contamination, the experts will be wearing some protective equipment while remedying the situation.
Third and may be the most important category is called “Black Water Damage”. The term black water is used as a blanket term which covers basically anything else and it is the most hazardous of all damages caused by water. Examples of this category include but not limited to, sewer or septic system backups, household chemicals like fertilizers, getting wet and seeping into the living quarters, animal excrement moving from outside as a result of heavy rain or other water problems. With Alexandria and vicinity having approximately 120 days of precipitation every year, it is a real problem around here. This kind of problem requires experts to come in, wearing full fledged hazmat gear to start the remediation. Category 2 damage left untreated for longer than 48 hours, is very prone to become category 3 damage. This is why immediate response to water related incidents is critical.
What Are the Restoration Classes?
Basically, there are four classes of restoration. First one being a limited water intrusion, which usually causes a part of a room with no or very little carpeting or pad. This kind of intrusion has very little chance of sustained damage. Second class is where the water has taken over one whole room or more, penetrated into construction materials and wicked up inside the walls but no more than 24 inches. Third class is when the water is invasive, fully penetrated into walls, flooring and subflooring, ceilings and other construction materials, virtually saturating them with water. Fourth and the worst class is where the water is bound to materials which are inaccessible by the conventional air moving devices and require special equipment to deal with the damage.
What to Do When Water Damage Strikes?
When the unexpected happens, first thing you should do is to pick up the phone and give VIP Restoration a call at (240) 540-4699 or email us at [email protected]. We are your 9-1-1 call for water removal emergencies. We are available in Alexandria, Virginia area around the clock, 365 days a year. We know how important is your peace of mind. Hence we do not make you wait until the next business day. Our teams come prepared with all the equipment necessary to assess the situation and contain it. Our teams will do anything humanly possible to limit the damage and increase the amount of material which can be salvaged. Also, where possible, our teams will sanitize any contaminated surfaces. If and when salvaging is not possible, our teams will remove affected pieces of material with the utmost care and dispose of them in an environmentally friendly way
We Can Help
We know how stressful of a time it is for you, when you call us. This is why we treat you like a member of our family, the same way we treat your home as our own home. We will sacrifice no effort to return your home back to its original, pristine condition. But, while doing that, we will not cut any corners just to speed up the process. We promise not to cover up any odors with other chemicals, holding the safety and cleanliness of your home as our most important purpose. Rest assured, we will go that extra mile to make you happy.
Our services at VIP Restoration do not stop at damage restoration caused by water. We also specialize in smoke and fire damage restoration, mold abatement and other home improvement work. We also offer property surveying services to locate and prevent any premature problems with moisture. If you feel something is not right, give us a call. We know not everything is an emergency and schedule a visit in your own terms and time. An ounce of prevention is much better than a ton of remediation.
Call Now
Call (240) 540-4699 or email us at [email protected] at the very first sign of contaminated water, and we will send our team right away! Our first response team arrives with the equipment they need for a complete diagnosis and containment of the situation. At VIP Restoration, we use only the most up-to-date equipment to locate the source of the contaminated water if it is not immediately obvious. In addition, VIP Restoration also offers property surveys, in order to identify potentially unknown causes of excess moisture. Our services don’t stop at water restoration, however. VIP Restoration also offers fire and smoke damage restoration, mold and water restoration, and home improvement services. Not every job is an emergency, but you can rest assured that at VIP Restoration we treat every single job as though the home or business were our own.