We’d all agree that there’s no average, little, or trivial water damage. Any damage inflicted on your home due to water is a bad thing. When trying to figure out which nightmare is worse, remember that it’s hard to measure tragedy. What can be worse? Facing serious plumbing problems? Roof leaks? Waking up to a natural disaster? All such problems are unbearable situations, which call for immediate water damage restoration. No wonder!
But there’s always a bad guy in a story. After all, not all homes are the same. The water damage clean-up becomes easier if there’s no flooded basement. The risks are limited when you are prepared to deal with natural disasters.
Consider the following example:
Two homes in the same city. One needs some repairs after a heavy storm, the other is flooded by the nearby overflown river. Naturally, the second home will suffer more from the same weather effects due to its location and structure.
But there’s one case scenario that will most likely be the absolute nightmare for each & every homeowner. That’s black water contamination. That’s when there’s sewage backup.
The worst home water damage often starts at your bathroom
A problem becomes a nightmare when there’s the danger of contamination. Thus, illness and oftentimes, death. Most of the times, it starts in your bathroom. Sometimes, your nightmare comes from outdoors – that’s when rivers and streams overflow, and the water is filthy.
There’s a reason why water damage service companies distinguish among water categories. Not all problems caused by water are the same. If your faucet leaks, that’s a problem. It’s a serious problem and must be resolved quickly, but won’t put you at any risk.
Things become tougher when the water flooded in your home is not clean. Typically, this is waste water overflowing from sinks or home appliances. Due to some degree of contamination, the water may make you or your pets sick if you accidentally consume it, or you are exposed to the bacteria for long.
The worst-case scenario is when the water is contaminated with fecal matter. No wonder there’s an urgent need for immediate water damage restoration service. When the sewer backs-up or the toilet overflows, there’s feces. Floods due to overflowing lakes or rivers are also dangerous since these waters contain bacteria. Stagnant waters are also filled with harmful microorganisms. Such cases are considered category III water damage, due to the contaminated (black) water that may cause severe sickness or even death.
The domino of black water damage
We cannot stress enough the urgency of speedy water damage remediation when it comes to category III contamination. The dangers are just under your feet. And it’s not just that. What makes things even more urgent and may we add, more tragic is that the problem doesn’t stop here.
When the black water is not extracted quickly and the place is not disinfected and treated properly, the chances of getting sick increase. Bacteria multiply. So is the possibility of getting seriously affected by the bacteria. And there’s more.
There are carpets and drywall in most homes. Such elements are quickly affected, and totally destroyed by water. The bacteria found in black water are absorbed by the carpets and sometimes, a complete home restoration is required. And there’s even more.
One of the worst effects of water damage is mold – whether or not this is black water. And so, you continue to be exposed to threats even if the water is extracted and the home is cleaned. Mold may grow undisturbed behind drywall or in spaces nobody bothered to look and treat. That’s why dehumidifying, inspecting for mold, and taking care of such problems rapidly is crucial. Black water is everyone’s nightmare. And when you thought it can’t get any worse than that, you are faced with the reality of the domino effect. Hence, the necessity of really thorough water damage repair and cleanup service. If we can’t prevent our nightmares, at least let’s fix them quickly.
