Water Damage Technicians in Delta Talk About Electrical Hazards

7/11/2018 (Permalink)

Electricity and Water Can Be A Lethal Combination--Call SERVPRO for Water Removal in Delta

SERVPRO Proceeds with Caution When Electricity May Be a Factor in Water Removal at Your Delta Property

Whenever water leaks from an appliance or water pipe and gets into the living area of your Delta residence, possible safety hazards can exist. Water can saturate items and force them to lose their structural integrity and fall apart. For example, if your ceiling gets saturated the tiles or drywall can lose strength and fall creating risks to the safety of the building's occupants. Excessive moisture can also create electrical hazards that can make the work area dangerous.
 
Everyone knows that water and electricity is not a safe combination. This why during any water damage in Delta our SERVPRO technicians inspect the damaged area and see if anywhere that has electrical wires got affected. If the leak happened on the second-floor water may get into the first floor's ceiling where wiring runs. If water got into your house's attic, then wires could also get wet.
 
When water meets electrical wires or appliances, it can be disastrous because water conducts electricity. Having current running through water inside a building can create hazards for both our SERVPRO crew and you and your family. Our IICRC certified crew is trained to look for these hazards during the initial inspection. If we find any problems that propose a potential risk, we figure out how to mitigate the issue before any work begins.
 
The first step to any restoration project is to make your home safe for everyone throughout the work process. For example, say we walk into your house and see a light fixture filled with water and the light bulb is still working. If a light fixture is full, it could short out and run current through the water and be dangerous for people walking into the room. Electrocution is also the number one cause of fatalities for firefighters.
 
During this scenario, we first go to the power distribution box inside your home and make sure it did not get wet as well. If it is safe to touch, we shut the power off to the whole house. Once we figure out which areas were affected, we can then turn power on to unaffected parts of the home and shut off the breakers to the areas of your house that got wet.
 
If we are confident that we fixed the electrical issue, then we can begin work and warn you not to turn the power on in affected rooms. If the problem with wet electrical wiring is severe or complicated, then we can call in a certified electrician to fix the problem. If you ever notice water near electricity in your home, call SERVPRO of Montrose / Telluride at (970) 240-6970 24/7.

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